Mahou
by Ume Hajime
Summary: A poison river, a ghost village, and one potion is all it will take to turn Inuyasha and Kagome's lives around forever...with their newborn baby that will either destroy or save the world.
1. The River

Hey my friends. This is my first and (even as of right now) it is 100 finished. So...I'm gonna post one chapter a week, and you can all tell me what you think.

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**Mahou**

**Chapter 1: The Village**

Kagome pulled her water bottle out of her bag and found it empty. "Hey Inuyasha?" she squeaked.

"What do ya want?" he snapped back rather rudely.

"Don't be so mean. I only want to know if there's a river nearby. I'm thirsty." He glared for a few moments but sniffed the air so he didn't get a meals worth of sits.

"Lucky you." He pointed north. "The river is that way." Kagome nodded and they changed their course. Upon arriving at the river, Kagome knelt down to fill the bottle and everyone else (except Inuyasha) kneeled to get their drinks as well. But something was off about this. "Hold up a sec."

"Why?" Shippo said slightly annoyed. But Inuyasha gave the kid no reply. Instead, he just kneeled over by Kagome and almost stuck his head in the water as he sniffed it.

"C'mon Inuyasha," Kagome said. "What gives?"

"Not quite sure," he whispered. This managed to get an annoyed groan out of everyone. Inuyasha's eyes flicked to them then back to the water. "There's no fish in this water…" he stated to no one in particular. The sent was off slightly…almost like it wasn't actually water. Finally, he got to the point where his nose was unable to tell him what this foreign sent was so he licked up some water. It tasted wonderfully sweet… and in an instant he wanted to drink more. But, so no one got suspicious, he moved his hand on 'accident' so that he slipped and fell in.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled at him, more annoyed than worried. He was underwater only a few moments, but that was enough for him to drink enough water to quench everyone's thirst. Of course, no one else had to know. "So, is the water 'safe' or not?" They all more or less glared at him in annoyance as he clumb out.

"I still don't trust it. But if you wanna drink it, go ahead. As long as you don't come crying to me when poison tries to kill you." They stared at him in confusion. He wasn't the brightest person alive, but that had made almost no sense.

"Fine. We'll find a better river somewhere else," Sango said completely annoyed and wishing she could say sit and sit Inuyasha into the river half a dozen times so he would finally figure out that there was no poison.

That.Night…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kagome sighed as they finally set up camp by the only other river in the region. "Water," she mumbled kind of weakly as she dropped to her knees and drank from this stream, which didn't get Inuyasha roused up so she was happy both ways.

"It's sort of odd that there's only two rivers around here…" Shippo said.

"Probably just a dry area," Miroku said, more than ready for bed. His hunger was the only thing he stayed up for. Inuyasha nodded as Kagome cooked some Ramen for all of them.

Once dinner was done cooking, all Inuyasha did was stare at his food. Maybe poke at it a little bit here and there, but mostly just stare at it. Even though this would normally instantly catch Kagome's attention, everyone was falling asleep while eating so it took them a good 15 minutes to notice (actually, what made them notice was the fact that they were done and he hadn't taken the first bite).

"Hey, Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome whispered as she crawled over to him.

"I'm jus not hungry," he mumbled as he sat the bowl by the fire.

"Ramen, an you say no? You sure your alright?" She smiled as she jokingly put her hand on his forehead. The joking smile quickly faded from her face as she realized that his forehead was _hot_. "Inuyasha…" He locked eyes with her and she could see the pain behind his emotionless face. "You're sick…."

"I doubt that…feh." She glared at him.

"You have a _fever_!"

"Probably the water, like I said." Kagome backed up a bit as her hand dropped. He must've swallowed the water when he fell in.

"So…it really was poison…"

"Would I lie when it came to your life?" She looked deep into his eyes as he sat back and looked into hers.

"No." She smiled as he closed his eyes. "Well, the fever isn't that bad…right now that is…"

Next.Day……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

By the time he woke up, Inuyasha was greatly regretting the water he had had the day before. "Ka-go-me…" he mumbled as his eyes popped open. That in itself caused a problem because the sun was already up.

"Hey Sleepy," she replied. "How ya feelin'?"' He glared at her for a moment. "What? You had…" She put her hand back on his forehead. "_Have_ a fever."

"I'm fine," he now snarled out, causing Kagome to back up.

"Inuyasha," she whispered. Her slightly scared gaze turned completely sympathetic.

"Whats your problem!"

Why are you so mean today?" Inuyasha blinked a few times. He hadn't even realized that he was snapping at her.

"I…sorry." He looked away and down at the ground. He expected a sit or two, but none came.

"It's ok. I can start acting the same way sometimes when I'm sick." She smiled and reached over to rub his back. "Wanna rest a day so you can get better?"

"I'M PERFECTLY FINE!" He slapped her hand away and stared into her eyes while she backed up.

"Inu…Yasha…" She gulped. "YOU ARE NOT PERFECTLY FINE! YOU HAVE A FEVER!" He backed up, surprised at her loud voice. "Now, are you gonna keep yelling and get a big ol' s-i-t, or are you gonna be a good boy?"

"I ain't a dog…"

"That wasn't the question. Your sick. You gonna be a good sick patient or get a few big s-i-ts?"

"Uh…" He answered by relaxing and just closing his eyes calmly.

"Good _half_ dog." She giggled as he let out a low growl. Everyone sighed as Kagome got the thermometer out and took Inuyasha's temperature. "Wow…101 and your still up and talking?"

"I ain't normal, remember?"

"Yeah…I know." She smiled and ruffled his hair (and ears…kinda hard to miss the ears…). "You really should rest today, though." She smiled at him as he glared at her.

"As long as we start walking."

"Walking isn't reeeesting," she sang out. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her before he noticed the bike behind her.

"That 'bike' thing?" She looked over her shoulder and nodded.

"Sure…" Inuyasha smirked as he got his way. Kagome just giggled as she dished out breakfast to everyone.

Lunch.Time…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

By the time the group stopped for lunch, Kagome was horribly tired. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was fast asleep. "You are so mean," she whispered to him as she stopped the bike and, with Sango's help, moved him to the ground. He surprised everyone by _not_ waking up.

"Is he ok?" Shippo asked a little loudly. But Inuyasha still slept.

"I'm not so sure now…" Kagome got the thermometer again and took Inuyasha's temperature for the second time that day. This time, her eyes went wide. "W…wow…it sure went up fast…"

"What is it?" Sango said looking over Kagome's shoulder.

"104…that's definitely _bad_. I shouldn't have let him do this…I knew he needed rest…"

"Don't take it out on yourself," Miroku said to console her. "It was Inuyasha's poor judgment that brought this on."

"But…"

"No." Kagome looked up at them with hurt puppy eyes then back at Inuyasha. "He'll get better. Don't you have your medicines? This is a strange poison. Normally poison would cause him to go cold, not get a fever."

"Yeah…" Kagome heard a faint rustle in the bushes. "Hello? Who's there?" A young girl popped her head out of the bushes. "Hey, don't be afraid. We don't bite."

"I know," she whispered. "I've been watching you. You friend drank from the river, didn't he?" Everyone stared at her a moment.

"How could you tell?"

"The strange poison. No one knows how it's possible. But the victims get a fever instead of becoming cold. It's a strange river. A sweat taste that makes everyone want more, but it poisons them and kills them. No one has survived more than 2 days after drinking from the river. But I know a couple who might help." She was talking in a monotone voice that sent chills up Kagome's spine, but Kagome pushed that aside. If the girl could help Inuyasha get better, that was all that really mattered.

"Where are they?"

"You're nothing but questions, aren't you? Well, they live in my village. That's not to far from here."

"Amazing that a village could live in such a dry area," Miroku said.

"Yes, isn't it?" They pulled Inuyasha onto Kirara's back and followed the young girl to her village. She couldn't have been more than 8, but she was so serious. They walked into the village and they saw everyone doing their chores, but even the young children were quiet. It's as if they didn't know the meaning of fun. "Auntie Karaka? Uncle Kiru? You home?" Kagome finally noticed a change in her monotone voice when she said that.

"Kara?" a woman's voice sounded. "Where have you been? You had us worried." Kagome could hear the emotion in Karaka's voice, but it was barley there.

"Yes, child," Kiru said. "Who are they?" The two now looked the whole group over.

"Their friend is ill," Kara said. "He drank from the Poison River." The lady nodded and led the gang in while the man stood politely at the door.

"Here, lay him on this bed," Karaka said sweetly. As she went about getting the medicine ready, everyone waited in the room with Inuyasha. "We need some of his blood and some blood of a willing, healthy, volunteer."

"I will," Kagome said before everyone else. She stuck her arm out for them before anyone could say anything. After getting the blood they needed, the couple went about fixing two different potions. Kara went out to the village for something, but came back and waited quietly as Kiru and Karaka finished.

"Here, have him drink this one," Kiru said.

"And you, girl, drink this one," Karaka finished. Kagome was confused about the whole thing, but didn't want them to get angry at her so she did as she was told. After they gave Inuyasha his medicine, the three left the gang alone.

"This is a strange village," Shippo said.

"I have to agree," Sango added.

"Yes," Miroku agreed. "That girl, so young but so quiet. I don't sense any strange auras…in fact…I sense nothing."

"This whole place seems dead…like a ghost village."

"Ghost town…" Kagome whispered. "Just like in those messed up American westerns."

"American westerns?"

"What are those?" Shippo said in a childish voice.

"I can't explain…it's just something I know from my era…" Everyone noticed how dead her voice was.

"Are you ok?" Sango asked.

"I feel a little sick…but I guess it's just that potion…" She smiled. "I hope I don't turn into some monotone zombie like the rest of them." Kagome started coughing, but that subsided. After about an hour, she was feeling a whole lot better, as was Inuyasha, who finally opened his eyes. "Hey Inuyasha."

"What the hell happened to me?" he whispered, finding his throat quite sore.

"You were sick," Kagome crooned. "You feelin' a lot better?"

"Yeah…" He sat up, but dropped back down his hands on his head.

"Headache?"

"Yeah again." He closed his eyes and let out a slight moan of pain, but Kagome was satisfied that at least his fever was well on its way down.

"As long as your getting better."

"Hello?" Kara squeaked from the door.

"What is it?" Sango said sweetly.

"My aunt and uncle want to know your names. They can't just keep calling you 'the people in that room'." Kagome giggled a little bit.

"I'm Kagome," she started. "That's Miroku, Sango, Shippo, the cat is Kirara, and this…" She paused to tug Inuyasha's ear. "This is Inuyasha."

"Of course, I am Kara, my aunt is Karaka, and my uncle is Kiru." She bowed politely and left.

"That was odd," Miroku said.

"This is an odd village," Sango said.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha said as he sat up slowly on his elbows.

"Everything around here is, well, dead." Kagome nodded.

"Inuyasha, do you smell anything out of the ordinary?" she said.

"No…" He looked around the room and his eyes set on Kagome. "You ok?"

"Yeah." She looked up and her face filled with life again.

The.Next.Day………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Breakfast was brought to them the next morning so Inuyasha could stay in bed and get the rest he still needed. In the middle of her meal, Kagome sensed that there was something else in the room, but she couldn't tell what. "Kagome?" Sango said.

"Huh?"

"Your just staring off at nothing…you _sure_ your ok?"

"Uh…yeah." Everyone gave her a confused look but went back to breakfast.

.Later

The group left before lunch and turned around soon after because Kagome forgot her things. Getting to the place where the village was, they found only a graveyard. Walking around, something was up. They saw some old rotting buildings, but nothing more. Kagome walked up to two graves in front of the largest house. "G…guys…" she said, her voice shaking. "Come look at this…"

"Whats wrong?" Inuyasha said as he walked up behind her.

"Grave one: Here lies Karaka, the Potion Master. Two: Here lies Kiru, the Magician. Nothing about the girl." Shippo, who was perched on Inuyasha's shoulder, began to shake.

"I didn't see any other kind of grave written for Kara either…" Everyone stood above the graves trying to think up a reasonable explanation, but no one could. Kagome looked up at the house.

"Inuyasha…will you go into the house with me? My stuff is still missing." Inuyasha sighed, still believing that this was all some big trick.

"Fine." They walked into the room where she had left her bag and they found the yellow thing. But it was dusty and ripped and shredded. And everything inside looked, well, old.

"That didn't happen in a few hours."

"You're right on that. Everything here even _smells_ older. Even your stuff."

"So…actual some sort of time spell?"

"I'm not sure…"

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Just so you all know...This is the fourth time i've had to repost this story. That's why it's compleatly done right now. So, plz read and review. I really liked this and i really want other people to like it to.

Lata,

Cova


	2. The Book

Thanks for the reviews I got! You guys are great!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...He owns me.

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**Mahou**

**Chapter 2: The Book**

A week later, they headed back to the well so Kagome could go take another one of her tests. "I don't see why those 'test' things are so important. You should just forget them for once."

"Inuyasha, this hunt won't last forever. I need something to do when it's over." Inuyasha cringed and stared at her back. He didn't want any of this to end.

"Can't you just skip one?" She turned and looked at him.

"Why?" He backed up. For some reason, he just felt that she shouldn't leave. He didn't want her to leave. He suddenly felt a much stronger bond to the miko.

"I…uh…Shippo and everyone else will miss you." He smiled inwardly at his cover up, no knowing that she didn't believe the excuse.

"I still gotta go. My backpack and everything was pretty much destroyed…I need more ramen." He glared at her. "I can always s-i-t you instead…" He turned and walked off while she jumped down the well.

…Two Days Later…

Kagome stopped in the library just to see what was there. Walking down the row, she saw a book about 'ghost' villages from ancient Japan. "Sounds familiar," she sang out. Pulling the book off the shelf, she went to the counter and checked it out.

…Home…

When she got home, she was surprised Inuyasha wasn't there for her yet, but that didn't bother her. One more night at home. She smiled to herself and sat on her bed to read.

Book:

About 650 years ago, there was once a village in the south that flourished. The people were said to be the strongest spell and potion masters in the land as well as the strongest priests and priestesses, though they preferred to be called magicians. Because the land was so dry, they were the only village for miles.

There were two rivers in the land. One good, one bad. They knew how to cure those who drank from the bad one, but only a select few lived. They were highly valued in the lands. Without their blessings, travelers would not survive even a night. The villagers that were around there would not yield any crops during the harvest or demons would attack. Even children born without their blessings died that very night. No one knew exactly why.

On night, their magic got the better of them. Kara, the child they had said was to be the one who took over as village master overpowered her village and killed them out of greed. The rivers dried up. Because she had no control of her powers, she managed to kill herself as well, in a sense. After burying the bodies, she wanted a body of her own so she could live again.

Kagome paused. The rivers dried up…but that happened 150 years before they got there…and Kara…She stopped and put the book away before quickly packing up her new backpack (along with the book) and running for the well.

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled happily.

"Hey Shippo. Where's Inuyasha?"

"He's moping around like he always does when you're gone."

"Ok…take me to him." Shippo nodded confused, but took her two the hanyou. "Inuyasha!"

"You said you were coming back tomorrow!" he yelled at her. "Make up your mind!"

"Get down here!" She looked up into the tree at his golden eyes and pulled the book out so he could see it. "I think this might explain something about that village, but I need to check something at the rivers. Can you take me there?"

"Tonight!" The sun had already sunk low in the sky…he knew they wouldn't be back until late the next day.

"Yes, tonight!" He sighed and jumped down to her side.

"What is so important…?"

"I have to know if…never mind. I can't explain it unless I show you. C'mon." He growled a little bit before looking at Shippo (as if telling the kid where they were going) and letting Kagome climb on his back.

…Poison River…

Inuyasha dropped to the ground where he thought the poison river was. He couldn't pick up any sent of water or anything. "Kagome…where exactly was the river?"

"You can't find it?"

"No." She got down and looked around before noticing a familiar spot. She clumb up the side and looked around. "I know why. That _is_ the river."

"This?" He looked at the bone dry riverbed he was standing in.

"Yeah…that village was an illusion…as was the water…"

"How'd I get sick from an illusion? Answer that."

"The village mastered spells and potions. That's how. The book was right…" She dropped to her knees and opened the book as Inuyasha looked over her shoulder.

Book:

To find her way back to life, Kara created the biggest illusion ever thought about. She would not allow her villagers to pass on so they remained behind, inhabiting the dead village. That in set, she used her aunt's potions to create a poison river and a clean one. Now the trap was set.

She was hoping to get a couple, one who drank from the poison river, the other from the clean. Using a sample of each of their blood, she made two potions. Only two couples left that village. All the others disappeared.

The first couple was a newly wed couple who died soon after having their first child. The child didn't survive either. The only strange thing about this was that the mother was a virgin. The second couple that left was a miko and a hanyou…

Kagome slammed the book shut, hoping Inuyasha hadn't gotten as far as she had. "Hey!" he complained. "I was still reading!" She sighed in relief that he hadn't. Of course he had to read from the top of the page so of course he wasn't as far as she was.

"We should head back…but can we go to the village one last time?" Inuyasha sighed and again pulled her onto his back and took her too where she wanted to go.

Once there he just kind of looked around on his own while she seemed to be looking for a set thing, which she found out back of the main house. Referring to her book, she found that all the names of the disappeared travelers were engraved on one large stone.

"So they died," she whispered. "Just like the villagers. Kara, why do you do this?"

She got up and took a short-cut through the house. Bad move on her part because, as she passed the room where they had stayed, she again got the feeling someone was in there.

"H-hello? Who's there?" She looked into the room and saw a faint glow that disappeared in an instant.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called. "What's taking you?"

"N…nothing! Be right there!" She looked back inside the room and saw that everything was once again dark. "Whoever you are, please help us…and these poor lost souls…"

…A Little Bit Later…

Upon their arrival back at Kaede's village, everyone greeted them. But when Kagome walked past them without a word, everyone instantly grew worried. She sat down at the god-tree and opened the book once more, this time to the summary her story.

Book:

A second child was conceived to a virgin. Past this document, nothing is known. It is thought that they, too, died, but no one knows for sure.

If the miko, the hanyou, and their child did indeed die, then the girl is still out there looking. If her soul is sent to hell where it belongs, the villagers will be set free, along with those who died. But if her soul is reborn, then all of the villagers will be forever lost and there will be no one who can stop her.

If the soul is reborn, the only one who can stop her is the child she will inhabit. The child will be born with two souls. Kara's and the child's. Dark and light. Hell and hope."

Kagome closed the book one last time. Die…If that book was referring to her and Inuyasha…then they were the last hope for those villagers as it was now. But that would mean…"Inuyasha…" Her hand went to her stomach. That would mean she was the pregnant virgin they had spoken of.

"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha said, managing to get her to jump. "You ok?" He kneeled down and pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah…"

"Anything you want to tell me about?"

"No…nothing at all…"

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Remember the rules:

Read, Enjoy, Review.

Lata!

Cova


	3. Truth

Chapter 3! Also, it starts withT! What's with me and T? Oh well, hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Like I've said before, I don't own this guy (or his friends) he Owns ME!

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**Mahou**

**Chapter 3: Truth**

Kagome stood up feeling rather sick. She had woken up only minutes before, so she instantly thought she was sick. She'd forgotten the whole village incident soon after returning the book almost a month earlier, so the thought that she might be pregnant didn't even cross her mind.

"Hey," Inuyasha greeted from his tree.

"Good morning," she called back. For her, this morning was no where near good. She felt worse than sick.

"You ok? You look pale." He was at her side in an instant as she thought of her lie.

"I'm just fine…I guess I just didn't get much sleep last night." She flashed him a fake smile before going to get breakfast ready.

…That Night…

Later in the night, while taking a bath at the hot springs they had found, Kagome told Sango about the sick feelings. "You felt sick just out of nowhere?" Sango asked.

"Yeah…I was fine last night…"

"You probably just got over heated last night or something. The nights are quite warm right now."

"I doubt…" Kagome sat up straight as the book found its way into her mind. "What if…it's that potion that that girl gave me…?"

"Kagome. That was over a month ago. I'm pretty sure you have nothing to worry about now."

"Sango…I read about that potion…Remember the book I brought back here soon after we left the village?" Sango nodded. "There were only two groups to leave that village…Ours and someone else's over _100_ years before us…and that village is only 150 years…uh…dead. But, back to the couple: They ended up having a kid, and the man's wife was still a virgin."

"That's…was that the potions doing?"

"Hai. It also killed them later…all three…" She looked up into Sango's eyes. "The couple _and_ the baby. But…the book said that there was another couple…but they were lost in time."

"You think they were talking about…"

"Me and Inuyasha." (If your wondering where Shippo is, he's asleep…and for the first night in forever, the boys aren't spying.)

"Kagome…You might be pregnant from just drinking something?"

"Yeah…Kind of a scary thought…"

"Very." The girls dried off and got dressed then returned to camp to find all three boys and Kirara fast asleep. "At least we can be sure they weren't spying. You know, you have to tell him."

"I know." Unknown to them, Inuyasha really wasn't fast asleep. He was awake, even though he had been good and not spied on Kagome. What did they have to tell him…or Miroku?

…Four Days Later…

Kagome thought for days on how to tell Inuyasha, and every morning she kept looking more and more sick. Consequently, Inuyasha grew more and more worried. "Kagome…are you _sure_ you're alright?" he whispered at sunset.

"I'm fine." She got up and walked off, not sure what to say. 'Hey Inuyasha,' she thought, 'I'm pregnant from a drink. Well, I think I am. And if I am, you, me, and the kid are all going to die.' "Like he'd be able to understand that…" She jumped at a hand on her shoulder.

"Lady Kagome," Miroku said. "Are you alright?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that!"

"Kagome…" Sango whispered. "Tell Miroku…"

"Tell me what?" Miroku asked as he turned to the demon slayer standing behind him.

"What she can't tell Inuyasha…If you know, then at least she won't have to tell everyone later…We can all find a way to tell Shippo…"

"What is it?"

"Remember that village and the two potions?" Kagome said as she sat on a large rock.

"Yeah…"

"Well, I found out why it was a ghost town…the villagers…the rivers…even the poison was all an illusion. That girl, Kara…She was trying to find a way to revive herself…So the potion…" She struggled with her words. Even telling Miroku was hard. "Ok, I'll try it this way. The last group to get out alive, a newly married couple, had a child…But the girl was still a virgin…The spirit was unable to revive herself through them, so they all died."

"Kagome? Does that mean she tried the same thing on you and Inuyasha?"

"Yes…And if the child I _might_ be carrying lives, the villagers will remain lost…their souls never at rest…And if the girl is not happy…if she can't revive herself…me and Inuyasha and the baby will die."

"Kagome…" Miroku looked from Sango to Kagome before taking a seat at Kagome's side, Sango on the other. "We won't let you or Inuyasha die…ok?" Kagome nodded, now sobbing as both of her friends hugged her.

…At Camp…

"Inuyasha!" Sango called as she and Miroku reached camp. Kagome had told them the plan. She would wait there, so she and Inuyasha had privacy to talk, and they would send Inuyasha to talk to her.

"Sango…" he whispered before his voice got louder. "Where's Kagome? Is she alright?"

"She's fine…she just wants to talk with you." Miroku pointed the way out for Inuyasha with his staff and the hanyou was gone in an instant.

"You know," he said, "you'd never be able to tell he was worried during the day. But now he's acting like a scared rabbit."

"You're right…It's kind of adorable, actually."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called out as he ran towards her sent. "Kagome?" He walked around a large tree and saw her sitting on a rock with her knees tucked up to her chest. "Hey…are you ok?"

"Yeah," she whispered. He walked over to the girl and sat beside her. Now he could see the tear marks on her face and he could still smell the salt of her tears.

"Why were you crying?" She looked up at him with surprise in her eyes.

"You can tell?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you…But you have to promise not to be mad at me, ok?" What instantly went through Inuyasha's mind was thoughts that he would never see Kagome again…that she was sick or leaving forever.

"Ok," he whispered after a few moments.

"Remember that village? The one near the poison river?"

After telling him everything about the village that she knew…she took a deep breath, now ready to tell him that they might be the next victims.

"What does this have to do with us?" he whispered. That got tears to rise in her eyes. This was going to be the hardest part of all.

"Inuyasha, the book said that there was one more group that left alive…but all documents of them were lost…"

"Wh…" He stopped himself as he saw the tears in her eyes. "Us?"

"Yeah…you and me."

"But you didn't…You drank a potion too?"

"Uh-huh…I didn't want them to get mad at us and not help you…I didn't want you to die…" She looked down and played with the edge of her skirt for a few moments. She felt Inuyasha shift nervously next to her and took a deep breath. "That means…Inuyasha…I might be…uh…pregnant…"

"Kagome…" He pulled her into a hug as she began to sob.

"Inuyasha…we might…both of us…might die because of this…It's my fault…all my…" He stopped her by placing his fingers on his lips.

"And here you had me worried you were leaving forever. Kagome…we won't die. You're stronger than that. Nothing is your fault…If anyone's, it's mine. I…uh…fell in on purpose…" He cringed, expecting a sit, but none came.

"Inuyasha…if I am…and there is a child…" she tried to get out between sobs. "The villagers…never find rest…and the world…horror…no way to defeat Kara…"

"Kagome…It's not your fault. You didn't know. You did what you had to for what you believed. There is nothing wrong with that." He pulled her close and let one hand rest on her stomach. "So…a pup of doom or death, that right?" he whispered, trying to lighten the mood.

"Pup?"

"Kid…child…" She smiled. Inuyasha the half dog…she should have figured he would call the baby a pup or puppy maybe…

"Maybe not…don't know…"

"No way to tell?"

"Yeah…That was only a month ago though…and already I'm feeling this way…like a month ahead…" Inuyasha cocked his head to the side.

"Maybe it's the potion?" She nodded. He smiled as he wiped away the last of her tears. "No more tears…at least not right now?"

"You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be?"

"If this is true…I'll really slow down the search for Naraku…" He hushed her.

"Nothing is more important than you're safety. Got that?" She looked up into his eyes. Kagome knew he cared for his friends, but she _always_ thought he cared most about the jewel…

"Thanks." He looked at her in confusion as she again buried her face into his robe. "Now to attempt to explain this to my family. They'll probably kill us for this one."

"Heh, yeah." She was asleep in his arm in only minutes. The hanyou could only smile…How ironic that he had always wanted to ask her if she would carry his pup, but he didn't want to burden her…and she was worried about being a burden to him. "Sleep tight." He carried her bridal-style back to camp and found everyone truly asleep. "So that's what you had to say. Might be…"

(Should I be evil and end there? Hmm…)

Nah…….

Inuyasha took Kagome back to her family the next day…needless to say they were surprised she was home with no test to study for…and with Inuyasha. "I have my reasons…Hey mom? Can you make steak for dinner?"

"Of course dear…"

"Ok…then after dinner…uh…before bed…somewhere in there…I have something to tell you…"

"Alright…" Kagome ran upstairs dragging Inuyasha behind as her mother watched them horribly worried.

"If you keep putting everything off they'll never know," Inuyasha said to the girl.

"You will never understand my situation…it took me almost 5 days to tell you…" She sat down on the bed and just look down, her confidence quickly slipping away.

"Hey, don't worry. Their your family…they should understand…"

"Mom might…gramps never will." He wrapped an encouraging arm around her.

"You'll be fine."

…After Dinner…

Dinner went well…Inuyasha ate a lot, as usual, and they all sat in their normal places…No matter what was familiar to her, Kagome knew this was probably going to be one of the worst nights of her life. As soon as Sota left to do his homework and gramps excused himself…he had decided that she should talk to her mother first and have her mother relay it to him.

"So, dear, what's on you mind?"

"Mom…no matter what I say…don't get mad at me." Kagome realized her voice was getting squeakier with each word.

"Why would I?"

"Because…I…I might be…uh…pregnant…" Her mother's eyes got wide and she started to say something, but Kagome rushed on. "It's not what you're thinking…I didn't…uh…yeah…It was a drink…"

"You're pregnant from a drink?" Mrs. Higurashi managed to squeak out.

"Maybe…see, Inuyasha was sick so we took him to this village and this girl gave us this drink and then we both drank the potion and then the village disappeared and then I found this book that told me all this stuff about the history of the village…"

"Take a breath, Kagome," Inuyasha whispered to her.

"Right…" Kagome hadn't realized how long her sentence was.

"So…how is that all possible?" her mother asked.

"Apparently I'm…pregnant from a drink."

"A drink…the potion?"

"Don't ask…But…mom…here's the worst part…" She paused and looked down to the floor. "We -Inuyasha, me, and the baby- might die because of the girl's soul…the baby, if it even exists, would have two souls. The second soul…Kara's soul, the little girl…If she isn't happy…she'll kill us. She died after killing her village…Now she wants to live again…"

"Kagome…" Her mom went over to her and hugged her, all the anger gone. At least Kagome hadn't been doing something she wasn't supposed to before she was married. "Kagome, don't worry…I'm sure everything will be ok in the end."

"Right. When baby kills us all."

"Kagome!"

"What?" The two girls laughed and Inuyasha smiled to himself as he went upstairs.

* * *

Chappie three! Well, I have to go shut the windows now cuz a storm is on it's way, so I'll be seeing you next week! Bye!

Cova Mahou

(even though I now go by Ume Hajime)


	4. The Months That Followed1

Hey guys. Sorry I forgot to update...Heh...Blushes and bows down to all of you Please forgive me and keep on going with reading this story...

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but here it is once more. I don't own Inuyasha. HE OWNS ME!

* * *

**Mahou**

**Chapter 4: The Months That Followed (1)**

The days that followed were interesting for them…They told Kaede and Shippo the story and soon found out an added bonus: This pup (as Inuyasha calls it) was growing much faster than usual. In one month, it was like it had been 2 and ½. They estimated that Kagome would be pregnant for about 5 months instead of 9 at that rate.

About one month after finding all this out (Kagome was about 4 months now) Koga got worried about why they weren't traveling anymore so he dropped by.

Kagome was inside with Inuyasha when the hanyou picked up wolf scent. "Inuyasha? Whats wrong?" she whispered. Everyone else had left to go slay a demon.

"Koga," the half dog growled out.

"Uh oh…" They stood up and Inuyasha went outside while Kagome peeked outside.

"Hey, mutt face!" Koga insulted. "What did you do with my woman?"

"She ain't your woman, wolf," he snapped back. Koga looked around Inuyasha and saw Kagome peeking out of the hut.

"Hey, Kagome? You alright…" Then his nose caught the sent of the child. "You…you…" He looks from Inuyasha to Kagome and backs away. "My…my woman…mutt face…"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha said as she walked out and snuggled up against him.

"Shh," she whispered.

"You…you…mutt…" Koga fainted in front of them.

"Nice. I didn't think he'd faint…but I just wanted him to leave me alone," she whispered as they stared at the unconscious wolf. "I know exactly what he was thinking…"

"Yeah," Inuyasha whispered as he kissed Kagome's cheek.

"Wha?" She and Inuyasha had gotten closer, to say the least. She'd had more time to learn from Kaede, but mostly she stayed with Inuyasha. But this surprised her.

"You're carrying my pup…no matter how that came to be…so I have my rights to kiss you." She blushed then turned back to Koga.

"Should we tell him the truth or give him the idea that I don't like him _that_ way and let him keep thinkin that we are…?"

"Let him keep thinking that we're mates," Inuyasha answered instantly. He smiled and dragged the wolf inside.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Kagome soon fell asleep cuddled up to her hanyou and Koga woke up to find them like that, Inuyasha awake. "What the…?"

"You fainted," Inuyasha said as he laughed. Koga glared at Kagome snuggled up to the hanyou.

"Why…why would someone as beautiful as Kagome choose a half breed like you?" Inuyasha's laughter stopped and the ears twitched. He was ticked now. "I'm _much_ stronger than a mutt. I'm full demon…"

"Shut up." Kagome moved a little, signaling she was awake, so Inuyasha waited until she yawned and sat up before standing.

"I'm better by a long shot…" Koga continued, not noticing Kagome.

"Wolf…you just signed you death…"

"Sit 'oy," Kagome said sleepily, not able to get the words out right. But getting 'sit' right was all she needed to send Inuyasha to a birthday party with his new best friend (i.e., Dirt. He was invited to a nice party…dirt for dinner!)

"What was that for," the irritated hanyou grumbled.

"Koga, don't be so rude. Inuyasha, don't be so…uh…rude…" She paused as she realized that she was trying to tell them both the same thing. "I guess I'm just really tired today, huh?"

"Wench," Inuyasha muttered as he pulled himself off the floor.

"Sit." Kagome stood up and stepped over the dirt bound boy and walked up to Koga. "Inuyasha, tell everyone else I went for a walk." She winked at Koga and left.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Kagome went out to the river. There was a slight chill in the air, but then again, it _was_ October. But then _again _again, she wasn't wearing cloths from her era anymore, either. She was wearing an outfit similar to Sango's with a sweater that her mom had got for her (ok…overall outfit + a sweater).

After she sat and waited for a few minutes, Koga came. She'd decided to go against what Inuyasha had said and tell the ookami yokai anyway. "Whats all this about?" he started, "I though you were my woman."

"I never agreed to what you said, Koga," she said smoothly. "But this isn't what you think…will you walk with me?" He nodded slowly before helping her up and they started on their walk.

"Koga…two months ago, Inuyasha drank from a river and got real sick from that. We found some people that could cure him, but they gave me a potion, too. Turns out, the little girl that led us there was evil and she needed our blood to make the potions so I would become pregnant."

"You're pregnant from a drink!" he yelped.

"Yeah…While it is true that the child is Inuyasha's…It's because of that girl. Ok? So don't go being mean to Inuyasha because of this."

"So…your still my…"

"No."

"But…"

"Koga…You're my friend. That's how it will always be. I'll never love you _that_ way. See…If this was anyone else's child…I wouldn't be around…I'd probably have…I don't know what…but I wouldn't have accepted this as easy as I did…"

"So you really love that mutt, eh?"

"Yeah…" She blushed as the stopped. "Don't tell him…"

"Why would I?"

"Sorry…see, I always say that because my friends from my e…home country would have told him. Habit."

"It's ok." He smiled and hugged her quickly. "I just don't see how that mutt beats me…"

"I don't either…I guess it's the fact that he's different and, well, special. That's what girls tend to look for in their boys." She smiled. "But…what about Naraku? Koga…what will you do?"

"I'll kill him…someday. Until I can, I'll just keep those damned incarnations at bay…Until that child of yours is a little older so you and Inuyasha can help…"

"So you admit you can't do it alone?"

"That guy almost beat you, that demon slayer, that monk, mutt face, and mutt face's older brother. If he can do that, then I doubt I can take him alone…" Kagome smiled as he nodded and ran off.

"Best of luck," she whispered. "And don't forget Ayame. _She_**_truly_** loves you." She walked by herself for a little bit before sitting down under the god tree.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

After another month had passed, though the baby would be about 5 and ½ months in now if it was a regular pregnancy, Kagome and Inuyasha were out for a walk on the slightly snowy day (I mean, less than an inch of snow). Kagome had sweatpants on and a hoodie over her loose shirt, as well as a hat and boots. She had also managed to convince Inuyasha to put on a Santa hat, even though everyone giggled at him slightly.

"I don't see the point of this stupid hat," Inuyasha growled at her.

"Do you want your adorable ears to freeze?" Kagome snapped back causing the hanyou to blush (as well as invent about 10 new shades of red)

"No…"

"So deal with it." She smiled, but frowned when she realized he had stopped. "Whats wrong?"

"Sesshomaru…"

"HERE?"

"Apparently." He stepped in front of her as a foolish little girl ran onto the path.

"Hi…" Rin said a bit foolishly.

"Hello, Rin," Kagome said calmly as she walked around Inuyasha and kneeled down next to the girl.

"You're that nice lady that always follows Sesshomaru-sama's little brother, aren't you?"

"That's a long title for me…but pretty much. What are you doing around here?"

"Se…"

"Rin!" a voice sounded. "Don't wander too far!"

"Yes, Master Jaken." She sighed and bowed to them before turning and running head-on into the imp thing (is he supposed to be a toad?).

"Don't be so clumsy…"

"It's not my fault I was leaving and you were coming!"

"She's got a bad temper," Inuyasha whispered to Kagome.

"Rin! Jaken!" a deep voice sounded and both were up in an instant.

"And we're about to see the ring-leader," Kagome whispered back as she stood up and took a step behind Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha…" Sesshomaru said with his normal emotionless voice.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said back as his brother walked in front of the two tiny creatures (well, Rin human, but Jaken ain't, so I gotta say that).

"Naraku is loose and you haven't been getting in my way."

"Are you saying you were worried about me?" Inuyasha smirked as his brother glared. Truth was, though strange, Sesshomaru _was_ at least curious of what had happened to the annoyance (or so he told Jaken). That's when the sensitive dog nose picked up what Kagome was pathetically hiding.

"So that's why you disappeared?" Inuyasha looked at Kagome's stomach and nodded slightly.

"So there was a dumb village, a potion, now Kagome's pregnant….from a drink."

"Why does everyone say that," Kagome complained.

"Because that's what happened." Inuyasha looked at her as Jaken and Rin left.

"So you won't be fighting Naraku because of a drink?" Sesshomaru said tired of being ignored.

"Something like that."

"As long as you stay out of my way, I don't really care." Kagome held Inuyasha back by a section of his hair as the smug acting yokai turned and left.

"I'm really starting to hate that," Kagome said coldly. That got Inuyasha to turn around, completely confused.

"Hate what?" he whispered.

"I mean…you're my best friend ever…yeah…kind of a little weird…But I'm sick of the pregnant by a drink bit. Though it's the truth, it makes me feel worse than if I was pregnant like a _normal_ girl…and still young."

"What do you mean?"

"If it wasn't for the drink bit, my family would hate me and I'd be forced to stay here…forever. I mean, sure, I **_love_** it here, but I love my family…"

"Slow down." She hadn't realized how fast she was speaking again. "To the point."

"It just sounds weird…I'm pregnant because of a drink…but it's still your kid, no matter what." Inuyasha blushed deeply. "I know you don't love me…but you can't deny that that stupid girl hit our soft points."

"I don't have any 'soft' points…and who said I didn't…" He blushed as his voice dropped to almost nothing. "Who said I didn't love you?" She blushed as she heard the word love in his sentence, but he jumped away before she could respond with a sit (which is what he expected).

Kagome sighed and sat under a tree, forgetting what he said. "Inuyasha, I love you…even if you don't love me too," she sang out quietly, inventing the beat as she went.

About an hour later, she was still under the tree, and Sango had yelled at Inuyasha for leaving her, even though he'd expected her to be back by then. Now he was sitting above her in the tree.

"Cold, isn't it?" she said to no one in particular.

"A bit," Inuyasha replied from the tree causing her to jump.

"Inuyasha…your back…"

"I couldn't leave you in the cold…"

"Too late." She smiled, not realizing the twinge of gilt that just got hold of his heart. "I'm fine, baka." He jumped down to her side and realized she was shaking from the cold.

"You're not fine. You're shaking." He instantly pulled his robe off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"I _am_ fine. I'm not frozen." She smiled as she took off his hat and tweaked his ears before putting the thing back on his head.

"But you might get sick," he said, choosing to ignore the ear rub as he pulled the hat back down.

"Inuyasha…why are you suddenly so worried about me?"

"I…I…uh…" He stopped and looked away trying to think up a reason. "Kagome…It doesn't matter how it happened…your pregnant. What would everyone-your family and our friends- say…and do if anything happened to you?"

"What about you?"

"Nani?"

"You aren't worried cuz you're my best friend?" Inuyasha blushed, but stayed quiet. If he told her how much he cared about her, she would view him as weak. Or if she did love him…he'd ruin her chance at a normal future. As soon as Naraku was dead, the jewel was whole, and the pup was three years old, he was gonna seal her in her era, permanently.

"It's not that…I…" He blushed even more before completely turning around so she wouldn't see his face.

"Inuyasha. I can leave as soon as the 'pup' is old enough for you and everyone else to look after…if you don't…"

"NO!" He jumped nearly a foot in the air, causing Kagome to jump. As soon as she said leave, his heart dropped down to the ground. "I…I mean…you can't leave…uh…Shippo! He thinks of you as like a mother…you can't deprive him of that…" Inuyasha covered pathetically.

"You always hide behind Shippo."

"Do not!"

"Ok, then tell me **_exactly_** what your thinking right now, no lies." A blush deepened across his face.

"Right now I'm thinkin that that kitsune shouldn't be an orphan. I know what that's like." Kagome sighed.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"So you really don't care about me?" He smelled the tears as they rose in her eyes.

"No…I mean yes…I…" He stopped while he hoped he was still ahead. He smelled as the tears ran down her face, but he didn't say what he was thinking. He couldn't ruin her chances at a normal life like that.

"Inuyasha…" She got up to run, but he managed to stop her.

"Don't cry…I do…care about you…I just…I don't…I…" He couldn't say it. She'd call him stupid for this. She'd think he was weak and not strong and…He shook is head to clear his thoughts. Suddenly, he felt almost like crying.

"What? You what?"

"I…" He turned from her as the tears welled in his own eyes. What was he thinking? If she left…he didn't want to think about that. He would be losing someone who was closer to him than his mother and Kikyo were, put together. But if you loved something, you let it go, right? That's what he had to do…he had to let Kagome go.

"Are you ok?" He blinked back the tears before looking at her with his normal expression.

"Just fine." She smiled gently at him, understanding why he was afraid to tell her stuff. Everyone he cared about left him. He didn't want this to end up the same way, though he thought it would. She wouldn't let that happen. 'He might think he's ruined my life,' she thought, 'but, honestly, he perfected it.

"It is cold out here…"

"You already said that."

"Let's get back to Kaede's." He nodded and they started to walk. When she walked slower he wanted her to, he picked her up bridal style and carried her to Kaede's hut.

* * *

Ok...I hope you liked the chap enough to review with your forgiveness. By the way, I want 2 reviews so I can update next week. Got it everyone? (Ok, not next week...I'll update as soon as I get the reviews, so it's all up to you readers). 

Ume Hajime


	5. The Months That Followed2

Hey everyone and welcome back to another chappie. Ok, I know I promised to update as soon as I got my reviews, but guess what happened? My computuer stopped working. When I tried to load the chap, it wouldn't. It refused. So...here is another chap of your loved story known as Mahou. As a promise to make up for your wait, I will udate again tomorrow. Not today, because I want you guys to feel the suspense here (evil me, eh?). Well, enough wait...Mahou, Chapter 5!

* * *

**Mahou**

**Chapter 5: The Months That Followed (2)**

Another month later (Kagome 4 months which is to 7 months), Inuyasha woke up to find Kagome sneezing by the fire. "See? You went and got yourself sick," he scolded. By now, they had gotten their own hut to stay in, since they'd be staying there for a long time.

"I'll be fine," she whispered, her throat aching.

"Take it easy…your going through a lot lately."

"Right." Kagome sighed and crawled into her sleeping bag. As soon as she was asleep, he put his hand on her forehead.

"At least you don't have a fever…" He paused, then turned away and let out a sneeze of his own.

"Maybe ye need some rest," Kaede said as she cooked breakfast. She had got into the habit of dropping by often to make sure Kagome was ok.

"I'm fine. This'll pass soon enough." Kaede sighed and let the stupid half dog do as he wished.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Kagome woke up and felt a whole lot better. No more sneezing. Inuyasha, on the other hand, who got no rest, was feeling much worse. "Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered while she sipped some hot cocoa she had brought with her.

"What?" he mumbled after a stifled sneeze.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"And you're yelling at me for sneezing. Nice." She put her hand gently on his forehead as he let out another sneeze. "And _you_ have yourself a fever."

"I feel just sneeze fine."

"Well, you _look_ worse than fine. Inuyasha, get some rest. Not like any demons are gonna show up in the next 3 or 4 hours anyway."

"And what if one does and I'm not up to warn you ahead of time? What if I wake up to late and it ends up killing you and the others?"

"Relax, would ya?" She smiled sweetly as he sneezed one more time. "Go lay down on my sleeping bag and at _least_ take a nap…for me?" He looked at her smile and knew that it would be her sleeping bag or the floor, so he went and laid down obediently.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Inuyasha hadn't realized how long he slept, but it was night when he woke up. And he felt twice as bad. "Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered as he sat up slowly. "You feelin alright?"

"For being sick…I'm fine." She smiled and dished him out some Ramen, which she had also ordered him to go get a few days earlier.

"Dinner?"

"I've slept since morning?"

"Yup. You're becoming a real sleepy head." She smiled as she handed him the food.

"So where'd Sango and Miroku disappear to?"

"They went for a walk." Inuyasha smiled as he ate his food…well, half of it (no one eats a lot when their sick, not even Inuyasha who can eat a bowel 3 ft high of rice, a huge steak and who knows what else for dinner).

Sango followed as Miroku led her on the moon lit path. "So Sango," Miroku said.

"Yes Miroku?" she replied.

"This is quite an interesting experience…Kagome and Inuyasha that is. But…I was thinking…" He backed away as she lifted the Hirikotsu. "Now, now Sango. Hear what I have to say…"

"Go on…" she muttered between gritted teeth.

"This has been a chance for not only them to get to know each other better, but a chance for us as well. Sango…No matter what you think, I care about you most of all girls."

"Miroku…where is this coming from?"

"It's become obvious that Kagome and Inuyasha are madly in love with each other…so I didn't want to…uh…how should I put this…I wanted to…I don't want to fight my thoughts…uh…" Miroku, for the first time ever speaking to a girl, was at loss for words.

"Miroku…You don't have to say anything." Sango smiled as they quietly linked hands to finish their walk.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Inuyasha woke up the next day and felt horribly dizzy and sick to his stomach. "Kagome…" he moaned out.

"Well…you really are a sleepy head," she replied as he felt the heat coming off her when she kneeled next to him (he kept his eyes shut).

"Not funny for someone who feels this damn sick."

"Sorry...s-i-t up for a minute." She made sure to spell 'sit' instead of say it. She didn't want an accident when he was feeling this pathetic.

"Why should I?" Kagome sighed.

"Because…You have a fever…I know that's a stupid reason, but I need you to s-i-t up so…you can take some medicine…"

"Feh." He propped himself on one elbow while the other hand went to his head. "I don't need any _medicine_. I'll be just cough cough fine."

"Right." She sighed again before looking though what she had in her new bag before pulling out a thermometer.

"What the hell…not that thing again!" She put her hand on his forehead.

"You still have a fever…" He sighed and let her put the smelly thing in his mouth. That made Kagome happy, so he just sat back against the wall. All she really wanted was for him to get better, and if this did that, he could get over it.

"How long again?"

"No talking…and until I say." He glared at her and she just smiled…But his glare softened as Kagome laid a hand on her stomach, but he was a good boy and didn't say a thing.

"You ok?" he whispered when she took the thermometer out.

"Yeah…I think baby woke up. Anyway…" She looked at the thermometer. "Well…not as bad as last time."

"Last time?"

"Before we found that village…then it was 101…then 104…but right now your fever is 100 degrees. That's still bad though." He glared at her.

"You'd do anything to keep me in bed."

"No, I'd do anything to keep you _healthy_." He sighed and sat back. She had him there.

"I feel just…" His sentence was cut off by a loud coughing fit.

"Fine? Right. If you were just fine, you wouldn't be coughing like that. You probably just got a cold from the cold air. That or some form of the flu."

"The what?"

"It's something from my era…you never know. I could have brought the flu bug back and you just got unlucky enough to catch it."

She looked him over for a moment before going through her stuff and pulling out some medicine. "You feel sick to you stomach at all? And dizzy?"

"Both…" Kagome nodded. "I take it that that means it's that 'flu' thing?"

"Yup." She measured out the medicine and handed it to him.

"What the hell?" He stared at the liquid medicine, but, after a quick glance at her, drank it down.

"Now get some rest. You'll feel better in a little while." He nodded slightly, but that only made him feel dizzier. He quickly gave up and just laid down and was asleep in seconds.

…Later…

When Inuyasha woke up, he didn't feel better. If anything, he felt worse. All at once, a sent filled his nose, his stomach churned, and he could feel yesterday's dinner trying to come back up. "Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered as he ran outside.

"You said that damned stuff would make this go away…" he muttered as she kneeled beside his shaking form.

"It takes time…" Sango helped her pull Inuyasha back inside and give him more medicine (since it was about 5 hours later).

A little bit later, after everyone had fallen asleep, Kagome stood at the doorway. That feeling that someone was watching them was back. She didn't think this person was evil…she actually got a warm, happy feeling from this person.

"Kara…" the wind seemed to whisper.

"Who's out there?" Kagome whispered in return, taking a step out.

"Kara is in you, isn't she?" Kagome gasped as a glow started to emanate nowhere.

"Y…yeah…I know that's bad…I'm sorry…I didn't want Inuyasha…"

"To die. That's what the last couple said. What is your name?" Kagome saw a beautiful lady appear in the glow.

"I am Kagome…the father would be Inuyasha…"

"I figured that. Kagome, you are young. Much younger than any of Kara's other victims. Before, I put a stop to her…But…I accidentally killed the couple that was with child."

"If you don't mind my asking…who are you?"

"I am Kara's mother. I don't have anywhere near as much power as my daughter, but I can keep at least her soul dormant. I think that, just maybe, this time I'll be able to save you and the rest of your family. Well…family-to-be…"

"Inuyasha and I are best friends…" The lady nodded.

"But you love him, don't you?"

"Hai."

"That's the only thing I needed to know. The last couple were engaged to be married from when they were just children. They didn't truly love each other. So Kara controlled the child. I couldn't save any of them."

"So…since I love Inuyasha…you might be able to save us?"

"I think your child will be the one who saves you. If your daughter…"

"How do you know it's a girl?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. Now, if your daughter is in control, then I won't have to do anything. I think that if you truly love him, then her soul will be plenty strong enough. Now, how I know she's a girl…It was Kara's potion. She wouldn't want to share a body with a boy…would you if you were her?"

"No…" Kagome smiled. "So we might have a chance? What about…"

"The villagers? That's easy. I can put the future in the family's hands. Here." She waved her hands and a cup appeared in midair…then a yellowish liquid filled it. "A liquidized jewel…"

"I…do I drink that?"

"Yes. It will allow your daughter to use all of Kara's magic."

"How?" The lady put the cup in Kagome's hands.

"I can't tell you that, because I myself am not sure. But, I know it will give her the ability to put a stop to Kara _and_ free us…"

"You were one of the villagers?"

"No, I died years before, when Kara was only a few months old. But when she started this, my soul was pulled back to this world."

"Thank you…" Kara's mother nodded and soon disappeared. Kagome stood, staring up at the stars, wondering for a moment if that was real. But she only had to look at the cup in her hands to believe.

"Kagome?" Sango whispered from the door. "What is that?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep. I'll be there in a minute." Sango, who was still half asleep, obeyed. Kagome poured the drink down her throat and the cup disappeared. Suddenly, she felt very tired, so she went inside and fell asleep herself.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Inuyasha shook the girl awake the next morning, worried sick at the pained expression on her face. "Kagome….Kagome!"

"Wha?" She opened her eyes and saw the pale hanyou over her. "Hey…I take it your feeling better?"

"A little bit. You?"

"Fine…ow…" Her hands went to her over-sized stomach. "Ok…almost fine…" She crawled outside and Inuyasha waited for the morning sickness to pass before picking her up and carrying her back in…And almost dropping her when he sat her down.

"I guess we're both out of it right now." He blushed as her hand instantly rested on his forehead.

"You _still_ have a fever."

"And I'm _still_ sick." Kagome smiled.

"At least you're being honest." Sango rolled her eyes as she and Miroku decided to leave, taking Shippo and Kirara with them.

"You sure you're alright?" the hanyou whispered to the miko.

"Inuyasha, I'm fine." She frowned a second before a smile crossed her face. "And it feels like baby woke up."

"Woke up?" Kagome smiled even more as she grabbed Inuyasha's hand and laid it on her stomach.

"See? It feels like baby woke up." Inuyasha sat there in amazement as he felt the baby kicking. "There's one more thing I gotta tell you…"

"What? Nothings wrong, is it?" He instantly got worried all over.

"No…everything is fine…Last night, while you were asleep, I met the spirit that's been kind of following us around…"

"Spirit?"

"Kara's mom…She talked to me…She thinks that this is good…I mean, she thinks our baby's soul will be able to overpower Kara's…"

"That's good…but from your voice…there's more?"

"Yeah. She gave me this drink so that our baby could use all of Kara's powers."

"Another potion. Nice."

"Not exactly a potion…just…well…I don't know what…But there was one more thing. She told me how she knew if this baby was a boy or a girl."

"How?"

"If you were in Kara's position, would you want to be in a girl's body?"

"Not really…"

"And Kara is a girl. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want to be in a boy's body."

"So your…_our_ baby is a girl?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha smiled as he sat behind her and pulled her backwards into a hug.

"Nothing wrong with that."

"You sure you're feeling better? No need for any more rest…?"

"No! No more rest…" Kagome giggled. She should have expected that, but for some reason she hadn't.

"Can I check your fever one last time?" He glared at her. "Thermometer or rest until the fever's gone with the wind."

"Fine." He sighed as she popped the thermometer into his mouth one last time.

"Better…99.8. Just over one degree over normal."

"Normal is 98 'point' 8?"

"I think it's somewhere around 98.6." She smiled. "That's not that bad, really. I mean, only a few points off normal is enough to get some people off their feet." She smiled. "But you're not normal."

"Right."

"Prescription: Take it easy. Overdoing it will make that fever shoot right back up…You're still a little weak anyway."

"_Don't_ rub that in."

"Not trying to." After putting everything away, she ended up laughing as he surprised her by pulling her onto his lap and kissing her on the nose. "Inuyasha…You're acting just a little bit weird…"

"Yeah…I noticed that…" He seemed to be off somewhere in la la land, so Kagome gave up trying to talk to him. It wasn't long that Sango returned with Shippo.

"Hey Kagome!" The happy kitsune said. He was happy that he was going to have the equivalent to a sibling. They hadn't had the heart to tell him that the child was mostly a bad thing, so he had the right to be happy.

"Hi Shippo…" Inuyasha looked up and let Kagome go, but said nothing. Shippo jumped onto Kagome's lap and put his hands on her stomach. He had felt the baby kick before, so he wasn't anywhere near as surprised as Inuyasha had been.

"So I take it your both feeling better?" Sango said happily.

"Yeah. Where's Miroku?"

"Don't know…he said he had a surprise for me…knowing that lecher, it's probably something that'll make him happy more than me."

"Probably." Kagome smiled as Shippo jumped to Inuyasha's shoulder and started to annoy the hanyou and Sango sat next to her. When she thought about it, they were one big family.

Sango was like her sister, and Miroku was like a brother-in-law (because he likes Sango and Sango likes him…so jus a bro would be a lil weird). Kaede was like her wise grandmother and Shippo was like her adopted son. And Inuyasha, of course, was the one she loved. Every once in a while, she actually imagined what life would be like if they were married.

He would completely forget Kikyo and she would have the guts to tell off both Ho-jo and Koga. Inuyasha would ask her at the god-tree and they would defeat Naraku as two lovers. They would also have many kids.

At least her dreams were slowly coming true. She'd finally told off Koga and they were having their first kid…even if she was the result of a drink and shared her body with an evil soul that wanted to control the world. At least the baby was her's and Inuyasha's.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha said, snapping the miko back to the real world.

"Huh? Oh…what's goin on now?"

"You drifted off into la la land," Shippo said, trying to sound smart.

"Inuyasha was off in la la land a few minutes ago," Kagome said back, getting a glare from the half-demon.

"Both of you were in la la land when I got back," Miroku said. Kagome hadn't even noticed he was back. She saw a bag resting at his side, and smiled as she stood and excused herself for a walk.

About an hour later, Miroku asked Sango if she would go with him for a walk outside by the frozen over ponds. "Miroku? Whats this all about?" Sango whispered as they walked.

"Sango…remember earlier when we talked about this whole experience? Well…I was thinking…Sango…I…" He stopped walking a moment. The only time he truly wanted a girl to bear his child, he couldn't ask her.

"Miroku?" She stopped and turned to face him. He gulped and was glad she didn't have her Hirikotsu.

"I…Sango…I…I…" He took a deep breath and walked up close to her and grabbed her hands so he wouldn't be tempted to rub her butt…and so she couldn't slap him at what he was about to do.

"What's wrong, Miroku?"

"Nothing…" He closed his eyes and took another deep breath before grabbing hold of her shoulders and pulling her into a deep kiss. She tensed for a moment, but melted when she realized how true this kiss was.

"You can slap me now," he whispered when he pushed her away.

"I…" For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Sango…?"

"I can't…Miroku…what was that all about?"

"Sango, I truly love _you_."

"Miroku…" She smiled as she almost jumped on him with a hug.

"Will you…and this is coming from my heart…will you _marry_ me, then bear my children?"

"Children…" She smiled slightly to herself. "Yes…Miroku…yes…"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

The wedding was planned to be two months after Kagome was supposed to have the baby, and Sango and Miroku decided to tell Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, and everyone else (except the minister person) after the baby was about a week and a half old.

Now, it was around 5 months, and it was early January. All they did now was wait and wait. The closer the time came, the more Inuyasha thought about how he was going to tell Kagome he loved her and _if_ he was going to tell her. She had shown that she truly cared about him, so all that was left was getting the courage to spill the straight out truth.

A week before it was _exactly_ 5 months since Kagome drank the potion when Inuyasha asked her to go for a walk with him. He figured that it would be safer to tell her before the baby was born, just in case.

"Inuyasha…where are we going?" she asked him as he carried her bridal style. Her stomach was now much too large for her to ride on his back without irritating her.

"You'll see!" He was all smiles at the moment, which kind of freaked her out. She looked up at the Santa hat he still wore outside in the winter. It was quite cute on him.

"I guess you like the new hat?"

"Not that new anymore…"

"I know…you like it though?"

"It's warm…and it doesn't bother my ears as much. So…I guess so." Kagome smiled happily as he landed in a beautiful clearing next to a waterfall that was still flowing. He sat down on the frozen ground where the several feet of snow somehow missed, and held her close to him.

"That waterfall is beautiful."

"You should see this place in the spring…or better, the fall. When all the leaves are changing colors…it's truly an entrancing place."

"I can see why…Did we just come here to talk about hats and look at cold water…or is there something on your mind?"

"Kagome…be honest with me…When this journey is over…What will you do?" Kagome looked up into his sparkling eyes.

"Well…even before our baby girl existed, I planned on coming back whenever I could…But now, I might just live here…"

"Don't make sacrifices for us…"

"I'm not. I like it here…better than my era. It's almost like I was born in the wrong era…this place suits me." Inuyasha smiled. She liked it there…so she would stay.

"Ok…" Here came the hard part. "And…uh…I don't want to sound selfish…but…"

"Inuyasha, the only reason I'm here is because of you. Something brought me here…something guided that arrow to split the jewel, and something let me know you."

"What something?"

"Destiny. Destiny brought me here and had me shatter that jewel for a reason. Weather it was to save the world from Naraku, to save a village of lost souls from being lost forever, or meeting a pure soul that everyone turned away from…Destiny led me here."

"Destiny…led you to me…and me to you?"

"Something like that." She smiled and closed her eyes and snuggled up to his chest.

"So…" He stopped as he felt her tense up a little before relaxing. "Whats wrong?"

"Baby woke up." She smiled and grabbed his hand with her hand that was closest to his chest and laid it across her stomach.

"Wow…you know…I never thought I'd feel this…or smell the scent of my child…or…" He stopped. "Kagome…can I listen?"

"Say what?" She sat up and looked into his eyes with complete confusion.

"Can I listen to her heartbeat?" Kagome smiled and nodded. She pulled up her hoodie and shirt a little bit and he put his soft ear close to her stomach.

"Wow…its cold out…" She giggled as his ear twitched and tickled her. "Baby Girl healthy?"

"Yeah…" He smiled as he listened to the steady rhythm of the unborn child's heart beating.

"Cold, cold, cold," she echoed again and again to get his attention so she could put her shirt down.

"Wow…"

"You said that already…" He smiled as he pulled his hat back on.

"Yeah…but that's amazing…A hanyou isn't supposed to know what that's like…"

"But you do. That just makes you all the more special." She smiled, but the smiled went away in an instant as a wave of pain over took her.

* * *

Ok, A little tid-bit about the romance part of my story (because so many commented on it): 

I wrote these early chappies back in December, first off. Secondly, I had two stories that didn't have a strong or long enough plot for my liking (one had no beggining, the other no end). So, I sort of had to combine them. That's why their "I love you's" are taking so long. Also, you can kind of say that they both know it, their just afraid to say it in the open. If you had a close friend that you hung out with, then you got married to them, it would be a bit odd. Things would be different. That's another thing I tried to work into here...Didn't do it to well though...

But enough of my yaking. I'll be seeing you tomorrow then! (Oh, and I better have at least 5 more reviews after these next two chaps, got it?) ;) or (a better smile) -.O


	6. The Wait Has Come To an End

* * *

**Mahou**

**Chapter 6: The Wait Has Come To an End**

_She smiled, but the smiled went away in an instant as a wave of pain over took her._

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said as she bent over a little. "What's wrong?"

"Looks like baby wants to meet the world…" Inuyasha went pale as Kagome held back a scream from another wave of pain.

"And we're far from Kaede's house…" Inuyasha hadn't expected this to happen…he had to do something…

"Do something…fast…" Kagome managed to say between her clenched teeth.

"Right…" In an instant, he picked her up and began to run. She was in pain and he knew they probably would have to stop…He had no clue what to do.

After a good 10 minutes of running, he saw an old abandoned hut. Better than nothing. There were hundreds of demons heading their way at that moment, so he set her down inside and ran back out.

The demons came fast, and he fought. He knew that he had to kill them off fast, or they would get past him to Kagome. But there was no end…the demons just kept coming. One after another.

At first, he used his claws. He got bitten here and there, but nothing serious. The first demons were weak. What got to him was the cold that instantly froze the wounds.

After the first round, the second wave was much stronger. He unsheathed his sword and sliced through them, but not one was to strong for that.

Then the third wave came. He used the wind scar to kill off about half, but half-way through this wave, a demon managed to knock away his sword. Once he was weapon-less, these demons were able to attack him.

He was managing to ward them off, but there was too many for him to face all on his own. It wasn't long before he realized he was in _deep _trouble. Kagome was in labor and the demons were managing to draw more and more blood. The more wounds, the faster the cold got to his body.

By this point, he was barley able to keep himself from transforming. He spotted a demon that was getting to close to the hut for his comfort. He quickly killed it, but because of all the blood and the many demons, he couldn't smell the demon that was coming up behind him.

He yelled out a bit in pain as the thing went through his back and out his chest. In an instant he was on his knees and there was a small and growing puddle of blood under him. But he didn't have time to waste. He stood back up and attacked more, but the movement kept the wound from closing.

The loss of blood was finally getting to him. He fell back, almost losing consciousness, but his will power kept him awake. He was _not _going to let Kagome and _his_ pup die.

Even if the pup was the result of a drink, she was his. Even if she shared her body with evil, she was his dream. Even if Kagome didn't know that this pup was all Inuyasha wished for, Inuyasha's dream was coming true.

He stood up, convincing himself to forget his own pain forever, and making sure that Kagome and the pup lived. The demons seemed to have no end, and he wasn't giving up. He could hear Kagome scream in pain once in a while, but she was fine for now.

But after a loud scream from the miko, his attention was turned. In that one instant, a long demon with some spikes on its tail wrapped itself around the hanyou's body and bit deeply into his leg while the spikes dug into his stomach. Inuyasha killed the thing quickly, but when he tried to stand, he realized he couldn't. His leg was broken.

The demon's fangs had cut all the way to the bone. But the stubborn hanyou was not giving up, no matter how much blood he lost and how much his entire side now ached just from his broken bone. He kept on fighting.

"Inuyasha!" he heard a girl's voice call.

"Sango?" His eyes were becoming blurry, and he fell back as a demon butted its head on his chest. He felt a few ribs break, but that was it.

His eyes shut and the blood seeped onto the ground. He faintly heard Sango yell Hirikotsu, but he wasn't sure because his hat had come off and snow had filled his ears.

"Inuyasha?" he heard Shippo whispered into his ear.

"Kagome…help Kagome…she's having her baby…" Sango nodded as she ran inside and Miroku finished the rest of the demons off with his wind tunnel. Inuyasha managed to keep his eyes opened in slits until he heard a baby's cry, but as soon as that came, his world went black.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Kagome gasped for breath as she heard the wail of the baby she had just given birth to. With her eyes closed, she smiled big. But no one had told her what had happened to Inuyasha, so she thought he was still making his way back from fetching Sango (Kirara was purring at Kagome's side).

She opened her eyes and took the small girl as Sango handed her to the miko. The little bit of hair that was there was black, and her ears were on top of her head, just like Inuyasha's, but black like her hair. Kagome touched a yellowish jewel on her baby's chest. That was what let her use Kara's magic, Kagome was sure of it.

The newborn girl opened her eyes a bit as she stopped crying in her mother's arms. The eyes were a beautiful golden color. Kagome wondered if she would grow in fangs and claws, or if there would be none. She decided to ask Inuyasha about his fangs and claws.

She looked up as she heard footsteps coming to the door. There was also the sound of a body or something being dragged with them. Shippo burst in and soon after Kagome saw Miroku's black robes…and something red on the ground.

"What happened?" she whispered. In her pain, she hadn't heard anything.

"There were demons…" Shippo replied as he walked up to her a bit shyly. "Inuyasha protected you until we got here. And…"

"He paid quite greatly…" Miroku whispered as he laid the hanyou near the abandoned fire place and got to work starting a fire.

"Is he alright?" Kagome whispered as she tried to move, but Sango stopped her.

"Kagome, sit still," the demon slayer scolded. "You're still quite weak from giving birth to….uh…what are you going to name her?"

"I don't know…I'll let Inuyasha decide…Look what he put himself through to make sure she made it to this world safely…" Sango nodded and motioned to Kirara so they could go get the medical supplies and extra blankets from Kaede's house.

Kagome watched as Miroku finally got a fire going and went to check Inuyasha's wounds.

"How is he?"

"A few broken bones…looks like his leg bone his actually broken twice…One wound goes straight through his chest…Kagome…I don't think Inuyasha has much chance at surviving this. His body temperature has already dropped quite low…and he's having a lot of trouble breathing…"

"He'll live. I won't let him die." She looked right at the hanyou as he gasped for breath. "He was going to tell me something else…and he hasn't seen his pup yet…he won't die until he sees her. I know he won't." 'I hope he won't,' she thought.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

As night fell, Sango returned. Under Kagome's instruction, she took the hanyou's temperature with the thermometer while wrapping his wounds.

"What's it say?" Kagome whispered as the slayer removed the thermometer.

"80.4….Is that bad?"

"Very. Normal is 98.6….or something around there. He definitely has hypothermia…if that gets much worse…he'll get pneumonia." She watched his shaky, slow breaths and noted that his finger tips and toe tips and ear tips all had frostbite.

"How can you tell?"

"See how pale his skin is? And how hard it is for him to breathe? Don't get me wrong…the breathing bit might be from his wound…but still. And a body temperature of 95 or lower is another signal. I'm guessing the only reason his temperature is so low is because of his wounds…their freezing him solid."

"Yeah…" Shippo put his hand on the shivering hanyou.

"I don't think we can do this on our own…"

"What makes you say that?" the kitsune whispered. Though Inuyasha was mean to him, he was the kid's 'adopted father'.

"The frost bite is a bad sign…he might go into a coma if we can't bring his temperature back up."

"A comb? What does a comb have to do with the cold…and how could he fit into a comb anyway?"

"A com**_a_**, Shipp. Not a comb. I don't know how to explain it…"

"What can we do?" Miroku said.

"Set up a bed for him then lay him on it. Then you should put more warm blankets over top of him. How's his breathing?"

"Shallow…" They did as she said and Kagome gently rocked the baby in her arms.

"Heat up some water and soak some towels in it. Then put those by his neck and at his sides. That should help the heat that's left stay there."

"Right."

"We should get him to my era tomorrow. I'm not an expert…and I don't think we should let his leg set the way it is. There's nothing more we can really do for him…"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

They all woke up once in the night because of the hungry baby, but other than that, she kept quiet. They were up with the sun, and carefully getting Inuyasha onto Kirara's back, along with Kagome.

"What about the baby?" Sango asked.

"I'll take her with me…Inuyasha will probably want to see her when he wakes up." The rest of the gang picked up the stuff and followed as Kirara took off at a fast pace, but not to fast Kagome couldn't take care of the hanyou and his pup.

Once at the well, she was surprised to find Kaede there.

"Child?" Kaede said as Kagome handed her the baby and had Kirara take Inuyasha down the well (which made him go to the future, but not the demon cat).

"Inuyasha is sick…so I'm taking him to my era. This is our baby…we haven't named her yet." Kaede nodded and handed the baby back to Kagome so she could get going.

Upon arrival, Kagome clumb out of the well, with a bit of complications, and ran straight for her house. "Kagome?" her mother said in shock as the girl handed her the baby.

"Mom…Inuyasha has hypothermia and he's really sick…and I can't get him out of the well on my own." Mrs. Higurashi nodded and put the baby in a cradle that she had bought for when Kagome did return before grabbing Sota and running to help her daughter (it's before school still).

"Gramps! Call 911!" she called to the old man.

The three managed to pull the hanyou out of the well and had him wrapped up (in clean/warm pajamas that Sota and Gramps put him into) in warm blankets on the couch. Kagome couldn't help but giggle at the puppies that were on the hanyou's new and temporary outfit.

The ambulance was there in less than ten minutes, and they were at the hospital in another ten. Kagome held the less-than-a-day-old girl close as they waited for news on how he was doing.

"Are you the Higurashi family?"

"Yes!" Kagome said as she stood.

"Inuyasha should be alright…Though we might have to do surgery. His lungs have been punctured and his leg is shattered. Other than that, I'm not horribly worried about his temperature. We've hooked him up to a breathing machine to help him breathe, and we've inserted an IV tube to put warm fluids into his body. His temperature should be up in no time."

"So he'll be ok?"

"As far as we can tell. How long was he in the cold before he passed out?"

"I'm not sure…About an hour and a half.".

"And how long was he injured?"

"I wasn't there…I'm not sure…" She looked down. This doctor made her feel bad. "Can I see him soon?"

"Of course. Room 309. It's truly amazing how well he's doing with his wounds…" He nodded sweetly before leaving.

"That guy made my skin crawl," Sota said.

"Sota…they have to act emotionless like that," Kagome said as she started to Inuyasha's room. "He's probably had to tell more than his share of bad news."

"Kagome?" her mother asked as she shooed Gramps off to take Sota to school.

"Mom?"

"What's the baby's name?" Kagome smiled as her mother wrapped her arm around the miko's shoulders.

"I decided to let her father name her…and he's been unconscious since she was born…"

"It's only been 4 months since you told me…that would be 5 months total…how is that possible?"

"The potion." The two smiled as the approached the door. Suddenly, Kagome was nervous. She was sweating and felt almost ready to faint.

"Don't worry…He'll love her." Kagome nodded as her mom gave her a gentle push into the room before leaving her.

"I hope so…" She went over and sat in the chair at Inuyasha's side. His chest and side were bandaged and she could see a cast on his leg. He wasn't going to be too happy about that one. His chest was horribly swollen…But he was breathing better…Thanks to the breathing tube that had been put down his throat.

"Kagome…" she heard him whisper. He was in pain…

"Hey. How ya feeling?" He sniffed the air without opening his eyes.

"Where the hell am I…?"

"My era, a hospital." He felt her hand brush the bangs off his face.

"It stinks…" Then he remembered the day before, and his eyes flew wide open as he sat up way to fast.

"Lay back!" She didn't have to shift the baby in her arms because he laid down on his own.

"How are you doing?" He looked over at her as her attention was adverted to the baby in her arms (who just woke up).

"I'm doing just fine compared to you." Kagome giggled as she rocked the baby.

"That's…" Inuyasha felt a deep blush heat up his face as he sat up a lot slower this time.

"Your baby girl." She set the whimpering child in his arms and made sure she was safe in the hanyou's arms.

"Mine…no…You went through so much for her…"

"And so did you. That's why I'm letting you name her…" He looked up at her and she kissed him on the cheek, which only served to intensify his adorable blush. "And to top it off, she's got your adorable ears…even though they're black…"

"Like your soft hair?" His eyes got wide as he realized what he said. But she was getting her payback now (i.e., she was blushing).

"Uh…I guess….so…what you got in mind?"

"I…I don't know…" He looked at the baby in his arms, who had stopped crying and was now looking up at him in awe. He smiled at how cute she was. "Well…she is only here because of magic…Mahou…and the other soul within her is evil…so…Mahou Akumu. Magic Nightmare."

"You're so smart," the miko giggled sarcastically. He glared at her.

"You told me to name her…don't you like it?"

"Yeah…" She smiled and snuggled as close to him as she could get with him being in a hospital bed. "One more thing…" She moved the blankets Mahou was wrapped in so Inuyasha could see the yellow stone on his daughter's chest.

"That's how she'll be able to use her magic…"

"Yup." He looked at Kagome, who was watching the baby (who was watching Inuyasha watch Kagome watch the baby watch Inuyasha watch…)

"Where is this place…and why am I here?"

"You had hypothermia…and your temperature is still down…"

"So?"

"Your leg bone has been shattered and the doctors think that whatever put that wound in your chest might have punctured you lungs…"

"That's bad?"

"Very. Inuyasha…If your leg isn't set right, you might never walk again. And for right now…you can't breathe that well on your own."

"So…what's all this stuff…why does this place smell so bad…?"

"It's 'clean'. The whole bit is to keep sick patients from getting sicker and to keep open wounds from getting infected." She pulled the little girl back into her arms as Mahou began to bawl for some reason or another.

"Is she ok?" a concerned nurse said as she poked her head.

"Fine…probably just hungry." The nurse nodded and went about her business. Inuyasha laid back down and looked away while Kagome fed their child.

"Mahou…" he whispered. Kagome smiled as she glanced at him.

"You really are something special, Inuyasha," she whispered back to him.

"Me? No…I'm jus a filthy half breed…You're the special one…"

"Inuyasha…you are NOT filthy…and your half demon, not a half breed…Well…half dog…and dogs are given titles according to their breeds…" She giggled as she leaned over and kissed him. "Akita dog."

"Wha?" He looked over at her completely confused.

"An akita is a breed of dog. They have adorable white pointy ears and are truly loyal…not to mention one of the oldest breeds of dog around."

"What does…?" His ears twitched. Akita Dog Demon…HALF Akita Dog Demon. That was a new one.

"Inuyasha…there's one more thing…"

"What?" He looked at her as he heard the concern in her voice.

"To make sure your leg sets right…the might have to perform surgery."

"Sur-ger-y?"

"Yeah…to set your leg…With your healing rate, your leg has definitely well started to heal in the position it's in…"

"That's bad?"

"Yeah…If it's started to heal…then they'd have to re-break it then set it." Inuyasha cringed a little. The longer he was unable to fight, the more chance Kagome could get hurt.

She put her hand gently on his shoulder. "Everything will turn out just fine…Mahou is here, and I'm just fine. You'll be all healed soon enough…" She smiled.

Inuyasha scolded himself inwardly for not having the guts to say 'I love you'. But Kagome was perfect in his eyes, and now she held a perfect child. Sure, there was a dark soul inside this beautiful baby girl, but she was still perfect on the outside.

He looked away from Kagome as she went back to looking after the child. She was so determined to look after Mahou…Inuyasha wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't ruin Kagome's life…and now with this baby…His hands were tied, and for the first time since he himself was a pup, he felt helpless.

* * *

Hey, I promised didn't I? Well, here is your 6th chapter, hope you enjoyed it. The next will be up as soon as I get 5 reviews. Thank you.

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	7. Recovery

Yet again it's time for your Mahou update. I'm sorry if you wanted it earlier, but this is the first chance I've gotten to be honest. Well, I'm thankful for all your reviews! Dang, I love you guys! (like friends...)

Oh, this is the first chap that doesn't have a 'T' in the title (I could turn it into THE recovery, but I think that 6 T chaps is enough right now).

Dis: Inuyasha owns me, so it's kinda hard for me to own him. Rumiko Takahashi owns him. Get over it and stop asking.

* * *

**Mahou**

**Chapter 7: Recovery**

Kagome and her family (with a yeah, sure from Inuyasha) decided that the hanyou should have his surgery the next day. During the wait, Inuyasha continued to amaze the doctors (of course, they never met a hanyou before, either).

They hadn't expected him to be up, alert, and talking for days, let alone hours. They also expected him to have difficulty breathing because of his punctured lungs, but he showed no signs of any of that.

Kagome actually giggled a little at their stupidity, but shut up when she remembered how stupid she had been the first time he got hurt. That moment made the most embarrassing moments list. Big time. She almost pulled his shirt off before he explained his healing powers to her.

During the day that followed, Kagome and her family did their best to explain everything about surgery and hospitals. The day of the surgery, Kagome's family left about 15 minutes early, and took Mahou home with them so Kagome had time purely for her and Inuyasha.

"Nervous?" she whispered to him.

"Not really."

"Not even a little?"

"Oh…the thought of being asleep while someone is hurting me to help me doesn't make me even _slightly_ nervous."

"So you are?"

"Yeah." He looked down at the bed as Kagome put her hand on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha…I haven't known you for more than a year…but at least you're honest. That's all that matters." She looked up as the doctors came. "See you when you wake up." The miko gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

The doctors gave Inuyasha some sort of medicine, but Inuyasha just let them do what they had to. If Kagome trusted them, so could he. But he suddenly felt a bit light headed…well, more sleepy and ditsy than dizzy.

"Rate your pain on a scale of one to ten," one of the doctors said. Suddenly, Inuyasha thought he lost it. He had no control over what was coming out of his mouth.

"Well…My mom died when I was 5, my brother poked me in the eye…then I got a sword. Then we met this guy who was evil and he wore purple stuff on his eyes…and he tried to kill me…and then this one girl gave my girl a potion and then my girl was pregnant…I always wanted to ask her to have my pup…"

He went on like that for a good 5 minutes before they gave him the sleep medicine that made him shut up. That he was grateful for. As he shut his eyes, he almost said "And if I die, tell my girl that I love her even though she had to carry my pup because she was pregnant from a drink," but it came out more like "It will die, I love my girl, and she had a puppy."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Inuyasha woke up, but kept his eyes shut. The light was getting through and giving him a big headache. A quick sniff told him that the entire Higurashi family was there. And Kagome was holding Mahou and sitting at his bedside…And it was at that moment he realized Kagome was also holding his hand.

"Those damned doctors didn't tell you what I was babbling, did they?" he mumbled.

"Nice to see you to," Kagome replied. "The medicine?"

"Yeah…" He opened one eye and looked at her.

"And why do they always make the fire so bright…and how?"

"It's called fluorescent light bulbs. Not a fire. That's how and why…who knows why. They just like giving people headaches when their sick, I guess." He could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah." She squeezed his hand before moving hers to his face.

"So you're feeling better?" Sota said, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yeah kid." Inuyasha rested his other hand on the kid's head. He was still tired. With a little help from Kagome and Sota, he managed to sit up. After a quick growl at the cast on his leg, he turned his attention to the baby in Kagome's arms.

"She missed you," Kagome whispered as she put Mahou in the hanyou's arms.

"How long was I out exactly?"

"About 9 hours…you sleep a lot." He put his hand up to his daughter's face and she grabbed his finger and stared at it like it was the most amazing thing in the world. "Hey…Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"Do you think she'll grow fangs and claws?"

"When her baby teeth come in, her baby fangs will join them. And the claws should grow in after about two or three months…small, weak claws…but claws."

"Ah." She leaned over and he blushed just from her closeness as she giggled over the little girl that was now sucking on Inuyasha's pinkie finger. "It's amazing how a baby can turn a normal acting adult into a bumbling idiot."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not stupid…I've heard you talking to her…" Then Kagome lowered her voice so only Inuyasha could hear, "And my mom and gramps." He smiled as they both watched the little girl.

Mrs. Higurashi shooed the reluctant boys in _her_ family out before following so Inuyasha could have some alone time with _his_ family.

Kagome's comment was proven as Inuyasha became an instant wide-eyed child as Mahou hiccupped. She took the baby back in her arms and Inuyasha watched with pure innocence in his eyes.

That was something she didn't see often, but it told her that, inside, he was still just a child himself. Sure, he was considered an adult. And sure, he acted tough and strong. But it was in moments like these that he showed what was deep inside.

Mahou Akumu burped, and Kagome laid her back in Inuyasha's arms. Again, the little child looked up at her father in awe.

"She really likes you," Kagome whispered into his ear.

"Yeah…" Kagome sat and watched the hanyou with stars in his eyes. This was all it took to take down the almighty Inuyasha. Just a small baby girl with black puppy ears.

He watched as she played with his two fingers for a good 10 minutes before she began to fall asleep. "And now is when you should sing to her…"

"Sing?" Inuyasha blinked a bit stupidly as Kagome started gently singing.

"Sleep, little baby, don't say a word…Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird…" Inuyasha closed his eyes and found the simple lullaby putting him to sleep as well.

"…You'll be the sweetest baby in town…" Kagome finished. She smiled as she brushed the hanyou's hair out of his face and made sure that the baby was safe in his arms while the two slept. "And you've always been the sweetest demon around," Kagome whispered to the hanyou.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

The doctors only kept Inuyasha at the hospital for two days after his surgery. When he was allowed to go 'home', Mrs. Higurashi found the old car (that hadn't been used in forever) so he wouldn't have to walk all the way home.

Even though the doctors insisted on crutches to help him, he refused them. Instead, he just balanced his weight carefully on Kagome so neither of them had too much to handle.

"Inuyasha," Kagome started as her mother held Mahou and they headed for the car, "You are the smartest dumb person I have ever met." Inuyasha looked at her and (like always) didn't get it.

"You saying I'm stupid?"

"Most of the time. But you're smart, too." Kagome smiled as she helped him into the backseat of the car so he could prop his leg up before getting into the front and taking the baby.

"Drive slow just in case?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"Yeah…slower than normal…but not to slow…" Inuyasha blinked in confusion, but realized what they were talking about as she drove out of the parking lot. With each stop and bump, he felt his stomach lurch. The noise of the engine and the stench of the gas made him feel ready to faint…But he was strong.

Until he got home.

As Kagome helped him out of the car, he pushed away from her and crawled over to the bushes (as best as he could…making him look horribly stupid) and let out his car sickness.

"You alright?" Kagome whispered as she helped him back up, now balancing more of his weight than before.

Once in the house, she had Sota help her help him upstairs to her room and he laid down on her bed and closed his eyes. His head was pounding and the disgusting stench of gas wouldn't leave his nose. Not to mention his leg was aching and he was finding it slightly hard to breathe.

"What the hell was that thing?" he finally managed to say.

"A car…" Kagome laid their sleeping child in her crib before turning her attention completely to Inuyasha. "You feelin ok, though?" She sat at the edge of the bed and carefully brushed his hair out of his face.

"I guess…" He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She hadn't been getting much rest since he woke up, but she was still so full of energy. "You should be resting…"

"Me? Why?" He glared at her.

"Mahou Akumu." She blinked before realizing that he wanted her to get rest because she hadn't gotten much of it since she gave birth.

"Inuyasha…I'm fine." She smiled at his concern, but felt her mother's hands on her shoulders.

"He's got a point, Kagome. You need to get some rest," he mother scolded. Kagome sighed as she waited for her mom to set up a temporary bed on the floor so Kagome could sleep there (because Kagome made sure Inuyasha had the bed).

"What's for dinner?" Kagome asked as she laid down.

"Ramen…" Kagome shook her head with a smile on her face as she rolled over and fell asleep. They were spoiling the hanyou.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Sota took it into his own hands to make sure Inuyasha was always comfortable, which gave Kagome time to rest and take care of the baby…even though she was slightly jealous. Her mother taught Kagome a lot about being a mother, and her gramps gave the child his blessings.

About 3 days after Inuyasha came home, Kagome walked up to her room with his lunch, but stopped outside. There was a deep, gentle voice singing. Inuyasha was singing to their baby…Kagome smiled as she leaned against the wall and just listened. It was his own lullaby…

"Sleep…sleep tight, little one. Sleep all through the night…Let your dreams take over, let them take you places you'll never go…Sleep…sleep little Mahou…"

He was sitting with his back against about 4 soft pillows and his leg was propped up by two.

His head snapped up as the door slowly opened and Kagome peeked in. "You…You were listening…" He looked ready to faint.

"Yeah…sorry…I was bringing your lunch up…" She walked in sheepishly and set the food on his lap before picking up the little girl.

"Don't…apologize…" She sat on the floor as he blushed and dug into his lunch.

"You put her to sleep…" He glanced down at Kagome and Mahou.

He couldn't stop his thoughts. She was beautiful…and she was holding their pup…Sure, the baby was only there because of a potion, but she was theirs…and if Inuyasha never got the guts to ask Kagome to carry his pup the normal way, Mahou was good enough for him.

"You said singing would work."

"I know…" She turned and looked deep into his golden eyes. "You're turning out to be a really good dad."

"Feh." Inuyasha blushed deeply at her comment. He couldn't help it…this was bringing him closer to her than he wanted to get. He couldn't ruin her life. That was what was keeping him from confessing how much he loved her.

But now he couldn't just tell her to leave…Before the baby, it would've been easier…but he would suffer horribly. He expected she would be going through her own pain, but she'd get over it, find herself a _human_ husband, and have a nice family. He wouldn't weigh her down.

Now, they had a baby. It wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy to let her go. Even if they could accept it, their daughter would never understand. Kagome's life was completely ruined…and it was all his fault.

Why did he have to drink out of the damned river anyway?

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she looked up at him. She could see his face was tense…She was worried about him.

"What?" he said, trying to sound cold, but failed. She had interrupted his self-bashing time.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine…"

"What's bugging you?" He looked straight at her.

"Nothing." He felt the butterflies in his stomach and his heart beating faster than normal. But he had to lie to her. She couldn't know what he was planning. It wouldn't work if she knew.

"You're lying."

"Am not."

"Are to."

"Not." Inuyasha twitched his ears as he heard a faint 'their parents and they still fight like their 3…' from downstairs.

"Are to."

"Stop it already…They can hear us downstairs." Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ok…But you're still lying." He glared at her as she laid Mahou in her crib. The miko then set the empty bowl to the side and sat at Inuyasha's side.

"What makes you say that?"

"I know you to well." She smiled and looked deep into his eyes. "Now…tell me the truth. What's on your mind?"

"NOTHING! Can't you get that!" He looked away from her in an instant, a blush conquering his face from how close she was. That's when the scent of her tears met his nose.

"Don't you trust me yet?" He looked right at her and held her hands up.

"Yeah…Nothing is wrong…ok?" She looked hurt that he wasn't talking to her, but Inuyasha didn't want to ruin the next year or two he had with her. After that, he'd never see her again. He didn't want her to leave on bad terms with him.

"I thought you trusted me…" She pulled her hands roughly away from his and dropped to the floor. Inuyasha looked down…He couldn't tell her…He didn't want to lose her…

That was two things he couldn't tell her. I love you and I want you to leave. If you loved someone, you let them go, right? He couldn't…he wouldn't. "I do trust you…"

"Prove it." His ears went straight up. Prove it? How could he prove that he trusted her…his deepest secret was that he loved her and they were in her era, so he couldn't let her…_protect _him…That sounded so weird…

"I…" He sighed and closed his eyes. "Look…There is something I want to say…I just can't…I've tried before…I can't…"

"Like what?" He felt the bed move, meaning she was sitting on the bed again.

"If I could tell you…you would know…"

"Why can't you?"

"Whenever I try…I just can't…" He smelled more tears. 'He wants me to stay here…' she thought. 'He really doesn't love me…' "Stop crying already!" She looked straight into his eyes as he grabbed her shoulders.

"You can't tell me if I can cry or not."

"I…" He sighed as a thought crossed his mind on how to stop the crying. Suddenly (probably a bit to sudden for her), he pulled her close to his chest before tilting her head up so he could look into her eyes.

"Inuyasha?"

"Just stop crying…You…you might wake Mahou…" Both of them flinched at bit at his words. To her, he hadn't said that he cared about her and that was why she should stop…He flinched because he hadn't meant to hurt her.

"Right…Mahou has your sensitive hearing…" Her eyes turned away.

"Yeah…" He knew she was hurt at his words. In an instant, he decided to take a chance. "You're a good mother to her…"

"What?" She looked straight back at him.

"Always thinking of her…and you're strong…She'll grow up to be strong to…I'm sure of it."

"That's because she has your…" Her eyes went wide as she felt his warm lips on hers. Even though it only lasted a few seconds, it felt like forever to her.

"No…She'll be strong because her mother is strong." He opened his eyes and looked away. She was probably really mad at him now.

"What was that about?"

"What?"

"You kissed me…"

"I did?" He pretended to be stupid and not know what he did.

"It was a mistake…wasn't it?"

"Y…yeah…" He blushed deeply. She wouldn't figure it out…at least not today. But he would always know.

"I'll be back…I have to go take a bath." She got up and left as he pushed himself down so he was flat on his back.

"I'll be asleep when you get back." She nodded and closed the door as he closed his eyes.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

The next few days were a bit uneasy for the two, but they soon forgot the 'mistake' (and by forget, I mean put way in the backs of their minds…but there to haunt them for a long time). After a whole week (with big complaints on Inuyasha's part), they took him back to the hospital to get the cast off (though the doctors had declared it a check up because one week was unreasonable for getting the cast off).

He grumbled as he limped on his stiff leg as they walked home ("No way in HELL am I getting in one of those '_car_' things again"). "Could have gotten a ride," Kagome said in a sing-song voice.

"No." He whimpered slightly as she had to catch him from tripping because his leg was almost too stiff to walk on.

"We're definitely staying here one more day."

"Why?"

"So you can get that stiffness out of your leg." She smiled as they walked past the fast food place. "Hey…dinner?"

"Here?"

"Why not?" She smiled as she pulled him into the joint and got them a booth before going to order. He stared at the burgers and fries for a few moments.

"Whats this?" He poked the straw in his drink.

"Here…" She took the top off it and the straw out.

"Better." They ate their food a bit quietly until Kagome heard three familiar voices.

"Kagome!" Yuka called.

"No…not now…" Kagome muttered as the three came over and unwelcomingly sat down in the booth with them.

"How you been?" Eri asked. "And who's the Hottie?" she whispered.

"I'm fine…Guys, this is Inuyasha." Inuyasha was looking out the window, mostly because Eri and Yuka had both crowded in on his side.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Ayumi whispered.

"Uh…ye…yeah…" Kagome blushed at that, and Inuyasha didn't get it (he didn't get the Hottie comment either…).

Suddenly, the girls who were giving him happy puppy eyes were backing away. Not to mention the nasty looks they were throwing him…

"Conference!" the two called as all three pulled Kagome into the girl's bathroom (not knowing Inuyasha could _still_ hear them there).

"Kagome…" Yuka started.

"That hot boy is your jealous, possessive, two-timing boyfriend?" Eri almost yelled.

"He's not…possessive. More like…protective…" she whispered.

"Break up with him!" Yuka and Eri said.

"NO!"

"NOW!"

"I won't do that!"

"Guys!" Ayumi yelled at them as she rested her hands on Kagome's shoulders reassuringly. "Kagome cares deeply for him…He can't be that bad if Kagome is with him."

"Right," Yuka said.

"Let's review," Eri added. "He's two timing you for his ex, he gets jealous whenever you talk to that other boy that likes you, and he is _way_ too possessive. I mean, he comes to get you if you're late, you and him are almost always fighting…"

"ENOUGH!" Kagome yelled, barley managing to not knock her friend's head off. "He's nice; he cares about me, and…and…" She stopped herself short of saying 'I love him.'

"And what?" Eri and Yuka said. "You should break up with him, honestly."

"It's her life!" Ayumi scolded them. "Let her live it how she wants and learn her own lessons…"

"All of you, leave my life alone!" Kagome scolded all three. "He isn't as bad as you think…" Her voice dropped so Inuyasha wouldn't hear. "I love him…truly…and I think he's a keeper."

The three looked at her sympathetically as she walked out and sat back down with Inuyasha.

"I bet you heard all of that…"

"Yeah…what did they mean by 'break up with him'?"

"They think you're my boyfriend…"

"Still not making any sense." She crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them.

"Kind of like lovers…but not quite…Dating is sort of like trying on new cloths…It's trying on people to see if you love them enough to someday marry them…"

"That's stupid."

"Yeah…but that's where the whole boyfriend/girlfriend terms come from. As for the breaking up bit…That's what you do when you don't like your date anymore. You tell them you don't like them…then that's it…"

"And how does this work into you and me?"

"They think you're my boyfriend and they don't like you so their trying to tell me that I don't like you…But that's not really working. Basically, their telling me to ditch you and never speak to you again."

"What did I ever do to them!"

"Nothing…But people around here tend to judge other by what people say about them…" She looked at the floor.

"So…"

"Sorry…"

"What for…?"

"They wouldn't think like that…if they had just met you…But I accidentally started talking about your bad traits when I was mad at you…So they don't know how good you are…"

"They wouldn't understand anyway…They'd think you were insane if you told them the truth."

"Yeah…" He took her hands as she sat up.

"So…dating is like trying out lovers? That's kind of…"

"Messed up. But not everyone meets one person and falls in love instantly."

"Yeah…" 'It took me twice…' he thought. He looked right into her eyes. "Shouldn't we be getting out of here soon? Mahou might miss her mom."

"Maybe she's missing her daddy…" Kagome smiled as they stood and linked hands before leaving.

When they got home, Mrs. Higurashi was rocking the baby sweetly on the couch and the boys were doing their chores with scowls on their faces. "Hey mom…what happened?" She helped Inuyasha to the couch so he could sit down.

"The boys were bothering my granddaughter. So…I gave them extra chores to do." She winked at Kagome as the two girls broke out in giggles. Inuyasha rolled his eyes before stumbling out the door to stretch his leg. Last thing he wanted to hear was _more_ girl talk.

Dating was like testing lovers…and Kagome's friends thought that they were dating…That meant Kagome didn't correct them. He smiled and blushed at the thought that Kagome loved him.

But he was going to stick to admiring from afar. He couldn't ruin her life worse than it was now.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

The next day Kagome jumped down the well with her supplies and Inuyasha followed with Mahou cradled in his arms. "You're finally back!" Shippo cheered as the ball of fur landed on Kagome's shoulder.

"Yeah…Inuyasha's all better now," she replied.

"So what did you name her?" Miroku said as he and Sango walked up.

"Mahou Akumu." Inuyasha glanced up from the child for the first time as Kagome took the girl into her arms.

"Mahou Akumu…Magic Nightmare?" Sango asked. Inuyasha nodded as he slung the new backpack over his shoulder.

"Ninja food for dinner," he muttered as he led the way to their hut.

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Ok, seeing as this is only one chapter, I'm only going to ask you for 3 reviews. See? I'm simple (bows). But I hope you like it so far. The really REALLY important part doesn't come until near the end, but I'm trying to keep this pretty interesting. 

Ume Hajime


	8. Naraku

Hey you guys. Ok, ok. I guess I'm a lil overdue, but don't forget about school. Seeing as I'm in the last nine weeks (actually, the last four weeks now) of my final middle school year, all the stupid teachers think that they just HAVE to pile the homework on. It's really not fair that they were the ones who wouldn't keep us up with a better pace (because they would go days and days on one subject, even if everyone was getting A's on it) so their stuffing us with so much now...grr.

Moving on now.

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**Mahou**

**Chapter 8: Naraku**

Kagome was feeding the child and Sango was inside with her. Inuyasha was sitting outside the hut with Miroku and Shippo.

"So…Inuyasha…" Miroku started.

"What is it, monk?" the hanyou replied slightly coldly.

"Where did Kagome take you in her era?"

"To a his-pit-tell thing. It smelled horrible…"

"A hospital?"

"I don't even want to _know_ how you know that." Inuyasha looked at Shippo as he played with Kirara. Someday, his baby girl would join them.

"Why were you gone so long?"

"My leg was broke. Kagome wasn't going to let me come back if I couldn't walk." A scent filled his nose and he was on his feet instantly.

"Who is it? A demon?"

"Yeah." The hanyou took a step back as the whirlwind stopped in front of him. "Koga."

"Mutt," the wolf replied.

"Koga…" Miroku and Shippo said as they stood up.

"Koga?" two voices echoed from inside and the demon slayer emerged, soon followed by Kagome carrying Mahou.

"Kagome and the rest of Mutt's friends," he said dully. He didn't notice the child in Kagome's arms yet.

"What are you doing here?" Miroku said, since it was obvious Koga had a reason other than to just see Kagome.

"While you've been off on your little _vacation_, Naraku has been quite busy…" He paused as he saw the bundle in Kagome's arms move. "That's the kid?"

"Yeah," Kagome whispered weakly. "Mahou Akumu…" Inuyasha glared at the wolf. If that wolf started flirting with Kagome again…"Calm down, Inuyasha." He looked back at her in surprise…Until he realized he had been growling.

"Right," he replied and stepped back so he was at her side.

"As I was saying," Koga continued, "there have been many incarnations that that brother of yours and I have had to kill off. But now…Naraku and his remaining incarnations have become a bit strong…"

"You saying that you're too weak?"

"No…" Koga glared. "Well…yeah…"

"Nice."

"Are Kagura and Kana dead?" Sango asked.

"No…surprisingly. Their the weakest of all yet they somehow manage to stay alive…that kid brother of yours is still out there, too." Sango smiled a bit at the comment.

"So…" Miroku said. "If we all work together, this just might lead up to the final battle." At that moment, everyone's eyes hit Kagome.

"I agree…" she said but became uneasy as the stares continued.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered. "What if we don't live? Who will take care of Mahou?"

"Guys, I've gone all the way with you…I've been here since…Well…Since I broke the jewel. I'm not leaving now." Everyone nodded.

"Shippo," Sango said. "You should stay here…Look after Mahou with Kaede." Shippo nodded as they took the baby girl to the old priestess.

"Looks like its back to finding Naraku." Everyone gathered their weapons and were off.

"Take care," Kaede called out. "Remember, Kagome and Inuyasha, there is a little girl here who wants her family to come home safe and sound." Both miko and hanyou blushed deeply, but they said nothing. (Koga went to get Ginta and Hakaku)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

They traveled all day, but found nothing. Now, at sunset, Inuyasha picked up his brother's sent.

"Inuyasha," the shadows seemed to say as the yokai stepped out.

"Sesshomaru." Everyone stood around now, just watching. It wasn't long before Jaken, Rin, and Ah-Un showed up.

"Your back to following Naraku, it appears."

"Yeah…" There was a very awkward silence that followed.

"You should be more focused on taking care of that girl and her child than following Naraku." Inuyasha glared.

"We'll kill Naraku this time. With or without your help." Sesshomaru stared for another moment before turning to leave with his group at his heels.

"That was strange, to say the least," Miroku said.

"Yeah," Kagome and Sango agreed. Miroku looked over his shoulder and realized a slight steam was coming through the trees.

"Is that…?"

"That what?" Inuyasha asked. He didn't smell anything…other than water. That's when it his him. "Hot springs?"

"Hot springs!" the girls squealed as the ran to investigate. Sure enough, there was the hot springs.

"Sango…" Miroku said, and earned a slap. Even though they were engaged, they had _both_ agreed not to let on.

"Not a chance."

"Will you two ever change?" Kagome giggled. "Boys, goodbye. It'll be yours when we're done." The boys both grumbled a slight bit (for _completely_ different reasons) as they walked off.

In an instant, the girls were in the hot water. "This feels sooo good…" Kagome whispered. "It feels like _forever_ since I've taken a bath in hot springs."

"And in the middle of winter, no less," Sango giggled. Smiling, they enjoyed a nice, hot bath.

After around an hour, they heard the loud complaints of the waiting boys and got dressed.

While the boys were bathing, they made dinner. "So, Sango…How'd you guys do while we were gone?"

"Pretty good…Miroku…" She cut herself short. She'd almost spilled her surprise.

"Miroku what?"

"Was his usual hentai self, I had to slay a demon for a near by village, and Shippo was quite depressed…but nothing out of the ordinary."

"Ok…"

"What about you and Inuyasha?"

"Well…Inuyasha was a good patient for the doctors…Well…as good as we can expect him to be."

"No…not that…"

"Oh…Well…Inuyasha…he…" Kagome blushed as she remembered the kiss they shared. "He kissed me."

"He…wow…Go Kagome!" The two broke into giggles.

"Don't bring it up though…"

"Why? Does he not remember or something?"

"N…Yeah." The miko decided _not_ to tell her friend about the 'accident' bit. "He was drugged." Sango heard the disappointment in her friend's voice, so she changed the topic.

"This is going to be the toughest battle yet…They should relax while they have the time."

"I think Inuyasha has had more than his fill of relaxing. He spent over a week in bed."

"That's unusual…"

"Of course…With his broken leg, there was no way he could walk around." The boys chose that moment to walk into camp, and Inuyasha was, to say the least, not to pleased that they were talking about him.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

They traveled in the direction Koga pointed out for days, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Inuyasha didn't pick up the scent, Kagome didn't sense any jewel shards, and, strangest of all, no demons attacked them.

Six days after leaving Kaede's, they finally caught sight of Kagura on her feather. "What a nice surprise," she said smoothly. "Where did you disappear to these past few months? You left us that boring wolf and your older brother…"

"Where's Naraku?" the whole gang said at once.

"Always to the point…I can't tell you." She glared at them and flew higher, just enough so they could see something in the distance behind her. "But he did leave you something to do to pass the time."

"Kagura…" Inuyasha sneered as he pulled out his sword while she flew off. Everyone readied their weapons as the large demon came near. "Any jewel shards?"

"None…" Kagome whispered as she concentrated a little bit harder, but the results were the same.

"This should be perfectly easy, then." Inuyasha smiled as he used the wind scar on it, but everyone did an anime sweat drop when it barley phased the demon. "Gimme a break…It's been a while since we battled…"

"True," Miroku said as Sango used her Hirikotsu on it. Strangely, that phased it more than the wind scar had.

"But that made no sense right there," the humans said in unison as Inuyasha leaned on the tree with his eyes wide.

"That…my…I…" He looked almost ready to pass out from the shock.

"Uh…Maybe we should try something else…" Kagome said as she looked over her shoulder at the still very dazed hanyou. "Inuyasha?"

"My…I…"

"Pay attention!" He shook his head before stepping up to her side.

"What?"

"Maybe we could use what we used on Menomaru."

"Wind scar and your arrow?" She nodded, and then he nodded. "Let's try it." Kagome wanted to do this more to test herself than to see if they could beat the demon.

Sure, Inuyasha would be weakened from five months of not fighting and a kinda big battle, but she doubted his wind scar wouldn't have killed the demon…Or at least nearly fatally wounded it.

She let her sacred arrow fly and he let out the wind scar for a second time. The demon took a lot more damage, but it didn't die. Either this demon was much stronger than Menomaru (which she doubted), or they had really weakened.

"Positive there's no jewel?" Miroku said as he moved his hand to his wind tunnel.

"Almost…" the miko whispered.

"Almost?" Inuyasha said as he stared at her.

"Well…I'm actually starting to doubt my powers right now…" Sango nodded as she used the Hirikotsu again. Miroku used is sacred sutras, Kagome shot off another arrow, and Inuyasha finished off the job with the weakened wind scar.

"Go check." Kagome walked around the remains again and again before she saw a faint glow. "Well?"

"Maybe…right there." She pointed at the spot and Inuyasha cut the creature open. Sure enough, there was a jewel shard in it. Kagome picked it up and then looked up. There were many poisonous insects above their heads.

"Their here for the shard." They quickly killed off all but one, and that one retreated. The gang followed it

Like the last time they followed one of those bugs, it dropped from the sky, dead. "That was pointless," Miroku said as they looked over to Kagome. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

"N…nothing. Nothing at all." She smiled at them and added the shard to the small set she had around her neck. "One more Naraku doesn't have."

"Right," Sango said encouragingly. "Maybe we should set up camp…" They looked over to Inuyasha who had already made himself comfortable in a tree. "I take it that is a yes?"

"Feh," he grumbled. A quick glance at Kagome told her that he wanted to talk about something as soon as she was done.

So, as soon as dinner was cooking, she announced that she was going for a walk and the hanyou silently followed her.

"Something's wrong with us," he said, startling her.

"I noticed that," she replied as he walked out of the shadows.

"Think it's the potion?"

"Has to be…We can't fight Naraku if we're weaker like this…"

"Just what I was thinking." They stared at each other for a while before Kagome sighed and dropped to the ground. "But you said that one of the villagers had talked to you…"

"Kara's mom. Why?"

"Maybe…just maybe…she and the other villagers will be able to help."

"You mean, you want to go back to the village?"

"It's the only way we'll know for sure." Kagome nodded and looked over her shoulder. "I told them that's where we'd be if we didn't come back, so don't worry."

"Ok…"

They were at the village around midnight, and without a flashlight. The place was still as dead as ever, but as they walked through the old house, the noticed that Kagome's things were now gone.

Out back at the traveler's graves, they found everything, once again in peak condition. But it was near two new graves…A closer look, and both Inuyasha and Kagome jumped back. Engraved on the stones were their names.

"No…We won't die," Kagome whispered. "Kara, Mahou will put to rest. We will live on." A faint glow came up from the writing as they saw what they had missed.

Both of them stared at it but said nothing. "So…we'll live?" Inuyasha asked as his eyes read over the writing. 'The ones who lived.'

"I…don't know…"

"That because you survived," a familiar monotone voice said.

"Karaka?"

"Yes. Kiru and I were the ones who gave these travelers graves so they could move on. But you lived. You had a child and survived."

"We made a special stone for you," Kiru said.

"Uh…thanks?" Kagome offered. But they shook their heads.

"Just finding a way to free our niece from the hold evil has on her will satisfy us."

"Free…" Inuyasha started. "So…she's not evil?"

"Only since she died. The cover on her death…She was wonderful. She cared about us." Karaka whispered.

"But somewhere…something slowly pulled her into the darkness," Kiru finished.

"Come to the dark side," Kagome whispered. "We have candy." She looked up. "What? It's something I heard somewhere before…can't remember where exactly."

"To the point," Inuyasha said as he looked back at the couple. "Why are our powers so weak?"

"Probably just an after effect of the potion. With training, you'll reach your original strength," Kiru said.

"With training? We're about to go into the biggest battle of our lives!"

"Here," Karaka whispered as she and Kiru turned. "We will help you. No tricks." Kagome and Inuyasha followed them, but were still uneasy from the last time they trusted these two.

"What are you going to do?" the miko asked.

"You have magical powers, don't you girl?" Kiru said. "We can give you a temporary burst of that energy."

"And you, hanyou," Karaka stated, "I might have a potion that will help you."

"Now know this: Our magic might have lasting effects. But these effects aren't bad ones. If anything, they'll make your overall abilities slightly better."

"So…" Kagome started, but the two hushed her. They were told to wait in the main room while the two spirits worked.

"Think we can trust them?" Inuyasha said.

"I hope so…they're our last chance right now. If their magic doesn't help, we'll have to turn back and strengthen ourselves for who knows how long…That will give Naraku even _more_ time."

"Right." Karaka handed Inuyasha a potion, and Kiru had some sort of magical thing set up in a separate room for Kagome. Inuyasha waited uneasy for the whole thing to be over.

In the room, Kagome sat opposite Kiru, a line of 5 candles in front of them. The way the candles were set up reminded her of an Olympics award ceremony. The biggest in the middle, the smallest on the sides.

Kiru lit the candles while chanting something. Suddenly, there was a bright glow coming off a necklace Kagome hadn't seen before. It was pure metal, and had a strange design on it.

The miko closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly as he put a second necklace around her neck. It glowed green (while his was glowing blue) and soon Kagome could feel the strength it was adding to her.

"Now," Kiru said, "that will only last for about 5 battles. But, if your body adapts to the magic, you just might be able to use it forever. Don't over use it." Kagome nodded as she stood and joined Inuyasha again.

"So…that's it?" Inuyasha said.

"Take care of your child and save Kara…" the both said at once. "That is the only thing we wish for in return."

Inuyasha realized how much stronger he truly was when he ran back to camp. He was running much faster than he ever could. They were back in the middle of breakfast.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Late in the afternoon, both Kagome and Inuyasha felt on edge.

"I sense the jewel!" Kagome said suddenly.

"I smell Naraku!" Inuyasha said at the same time.

"I guess that means the final battle is almost here," Miroku said as he laughed a bit. He and Sango clumb onto Kirara as Inuyasha picked up Kagome, and they were off. This was going to end, today.

As they went on, out of nowhere, they all got thrown back. "Heh…Could've expected on of his damned barriers," Inuyasha snarled as he pulled the tesusiga out and made it turn red. In an instant, the barrier was gone and a, needless to say, pissed off Naraku was there. Kagura and Kana and a new incarnation fought for a bit, but the new one was killed off fast.

Kana's mirror was broken, but Kana didn't die. They wounded Kagura severely, but did not kill her. With the weakest incarnations useless, Naraku was now on his own to fight.

"This is where it all ends," Inuyasha snarled at the demon. At that instant, Sesshomaru showed up. No sign of Koga.

"No fighting!" Kagome, Sango, and Miroku all said at once as the yokai opened his mouth to tell of his younger half-brother. For some reason, the inu-sama listened to them.

"We all have our reasons for killing Naraku," Sango started.

"And we'll all get revenge together," Miroku added.

"So you two can get along for **_once_**," Kagome finished. Both brothers looked at them, but didn't argue.

"How _touching_," Naraku said in his normal mocking manner. They all glared at him for a moment before Naraku made the first move.

The fight was on.

Naraku had increased in strength immensely, so he was quite a match for the newly gained powers of Kagome and Inuyasha.

All Naraku did was laugh at them for the most part, his smaller, more personal, barrier protecting him (the one he got when he left the mountain, for those who haven't seen the episodes after the band of seven).

The whole group was getting fed up with what was going on. Naraku managed to, somehow, wound the entire group at once. It was then they noticed the last incarnation behind him. A large demon, it looked almost like it wasn't even there. No wonder they had missed it.

Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had barley gotten scratched (like a gash in the shoulder), but both brothers had wounds deep in their chests. "Kagome?" Inuyasha said as he looked over at her.

"And you just got all better from that last battle with all those demons," she said loudly. Inuyasha smiled at her, always thinking about everyone else…Even with her shoulder bleeding so openly.

Kagome jumped on Kirara's back and motioned for Sango to follow. She had an idea. "What is it?" Sango said as Kirara took off.

"You weaken it, I'll kill it," Kagome said. She had a bit too much confidence at that moment. "Even if I don't kill it…It'll still be a whole lot weaker."

"Right." Sango threw her weapon and Kagome shot off her arrow as the boomerang bone returned. When the glow died off, they saw almost no trace that the creature had ever been there.

"That worked well…"

"A bit to well…" They landed and Naraku just continued to smile.

"This is just a little bit…strange." They all stared as the smaller demons now attacked, Kohaku joining them.

"Kohaku!" Sango yelled as she grabbed his wrists. "Not this time." The rest off the group killed off the demons quickly, and then Sango managed to knock Kohaku out without severely injuring him. After giving the kid to Kirara to take him out of there, she rejoined the group.

Naraku still wasn't worried.

"What is with you?" Inuyasha said. "You're going to die today and you're not even slightly worried?"

"Who said _I _was going to die?" Naraku snapped back. All five watched as his body changed. Not to a spider like thing (like in the 2nd movie), but into something that looked like the old Naraku.

His vine-like arms whipping around, they had a hard time getting out of the way. Inuyasha cut one off, but the miasma was much stronger than ever before. As the protected themselves, more miasma filled the area.

Soon, they were all feeling sick and dizzy, even Sesshomaru. Inuyasha, as well as everyone else, was completely tired of this. "Kagome?" the hanyou said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Maybe we should all put our attacks together…" He looked over at his brother, then to Miroku and Sango.

"That would work. Separate, we can't do this…"

"But as a group," Sango started.

"We just might win," Miroku said. Sesshomaru glared, but lifted his sword as if in agreement.

They stood in line, starting with Sesshomaru on one end and Inuyasha on the other, Kagome in the middle. Sango threw her boomerang bone at Naraku, then Miroku added in his sacred sutras. After that, Sesshomaru used his swords full power.

Kagome nodded to Inuyasha before letting one of her arrows fly. Inuyasha smiled as he set off the wind scar (still not trusting his abilities enough to use the back last wave).

They all watched silently as the joking face Naraku had had on turned to once of worry. Then, the attacks more or less blew him up. All five were blown back in the explosion, and separated.

Sesshomaru wasn't blown very far, but, as his body made hard contact with a cliff, he was thrown unconscious.

Sango and Miroku were blown off in another direction. Luckily (in their minds), they were together.

Last, Kagome and Inuyasha were blown off in a third direction, but still together. Everyone was left unconscious.

* * *

If you really like my pathetic story (I honestly think it's pathetic), then I'm writing a few others right now. I like the thought of finishing then uploading...that way I'm never behind if I can help it. It's all finished pre-upload so I won't have to really worry about falling behind on writing (because I'm still busy writing a few originals for fictionpress). 

So, I'm asking what you think about the next one I'm think about putting up here:

Crazy Reality

What would Inuyasha do if Kagome was acting just like him from the very beginning: Rude, bad attitude, and all around outcast. What makes this reality worse? If the show we know is a TV show in her world (that she worships with all her heart).


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